


Candid Cravings

by punklobster



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Sexual Tension, crazy magical sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-25
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-04-01 05:23:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 30,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4007461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punklobster/pseuds/punklobster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started the day Kyouko seemingly decided to drop a bomb on Homura with the words "We should have sex." Homura started choking violently on her food.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo. This story is based off MichaelSaniyan's Optimal Outcome and Perpetual Probability over on ff. net. Two reasons! One, it has an ideal kyouhomu set up where Madoka ends up with Mami, Sayaka is super straight, and Homura and Kyouko are bros. Second, I was all like, "These two need to hook up," and Michael said "Do it" and I was like, "Fuck yeah!" You don't necessarily have to read those stories to read this one. 
> 
> Figured I'd repost the story here, in preparation for the upcoming sequel.
> 
> Beta'd by Rhyno Holter.

It all started the day Kyouko seemingly decided to drop a bomb on Homura with the words "We should have sex."

Homura, who had been standing at the kitchen counter having a bite to eat, started choking violently on her food.

Actually, it was wholly inaccurate to say that this is the point it all started and both were well aware of that fact. A series of events had occurred to set Kyouko's statement in motion. One could say the starting point was the very day they struck up something resembling friendship. Now that may be over-reaching, but one cannot deny the slow boil that's been building up in such a silent manner. After the situation hit a certain peak, everything pretty much snowballed from there.

It was a short time after a whole mess had occurred. After the whole "Kyouko and Homura successfully killed Kyubey and their group faced off with magical girls from another city, then got horribly killed then revived by the girl Kyouko had smuggled into Mitakihara to help kill Kyubey in the first place" stuff. The news stations had just started to find other things to report on besides the destruction that resulted from the ordeal, and Mitakihara essentially quieted after those events. Witches all but became extinct after Kyubey's death since there weren't anymore girls getting contracted, and the existing Magical Girls had a method to keep the corruption in their Soul Gems at bay without Grief Seeds.

It was, in essence, a time of peace.

It was also a uniquely miserable period of time for Homura Akemi.

Having the person you loved most sharing a body with the person you hated the most would do that to anyone. Since Mami's body had been destroyed and her conscious moved into Madoka's body, Homura had rarely seen Madoka, who spent a majority of her time learning to interact with Mami within her mind. It was also safe to say that Homura was just simply avoiding Madoka at this point.

Even more overbearing was the fact that they were currently waiting for any kind of response from the Incubators. It was only natural that they should expect an investigation on their part after they had managed to successfully kill Kyubey. They didn't know what to expect, but it was wise to keep vigilance for anything. This put Homura even more on edge. Contrary to popular belief, she was not a very patient person. She'd rather have been actively eliminating even more of their kind rather than waiting for their response.

Homura wanted to take out her increasingly coiling nerves on something, but there really wasn't anything going on in her life besides the aforementioned to occupy her time. While fighting Witches had become something of a chore after the Walpurgisnacht, the act of eliminating those dark creatures had been habitual, and the absence of that routine was slightly annoying. Her loss to Tenshi was also a reminder of just how rusty she had become in battle. It made her somewhat more grouchy and irritable than usual. Life was now missing something, but there wasn't much to be done. Not many of the other girls seemed to share her unrest besides Kyouko. But that was a given. The real surprise was when Sayaka approached Homura afterschool herself.

This was why Homura was currently beating the snot out of Sayaka on the rooftops of Mitakihara.

To any normal human eyes that might have happened to be gazing out at the cityscape, nothing would be out of the ordinary. Except perhaps for the occasional gleam without a source, a particularly powerful gust of wind, or quickly moving figures in the corner of one's vision. Small things quickly forgotten or ignored. But if one perhaps gifted with the potential for magic looked hard enough to pick up even the slightest shift of air-

"GYAAAAAHHH!" The very loud and pain-filled shout could be heard across the block.

Even more painfully obvious was the crashing sound of a body flying through a glass window. In between two buildings, Homura lightly touched down on her feet, looking up above her at the impressive hole in the window Sayaka made just now. Well, technically Homura was the one that blasted Sayaka through the window, but still. Thoughtfully, the raven haired mage switched her attentions from the broken window to her right hand. There was a cut right above her wrist that dripped blood onto the pavement. It was a sword wound. Sayaka had certainly improved if she was able to land a hit on her. That, or Homura was even rustier than she had thought.

From up above her there was some screaming, some yelling, and some random items thrown out the window. A profusely apologizing Sayaka was backing up to the broken window she fell through before a comb hit her square in the face and sent her stumbling back out into the open air. There was some more annoying screaming when Sayaka hit the fire escape on the way down and made more noise than was necessary. Homura decided that was her cue to head back home.

With a quick flash of light her white and purple magical attire disappeared to be replaced by civilian wear. She stepped onto the walkways and blended seamlessly with the crowds there, none of them the wiser that a Magical Girl battle had just taken place above their heads.

"Hey!" Homura was halfway down the street by the time a limping Sayaka caught up to her, also decked out in casual clothes. "We're not finished yet!"

"It's not a good idea to exhaust our magic right now, considering the lack of Grief Seeds." Homura had had this argument with the other girl before they fought, but it looked like that point hadn't been drilled into her yet. "Besides, it was my win."

Sayaka winced as she used her magic to rapidly heal the wounds Homura inflicted on her. Bits of metal were hitting the pavement like loose change as her body cleansed itself of foreign objects. It must have been a weird sight for anyone watching. Homura felt a bit better about the one clean hit she'd sustained.

"I know. Hitomi's pretty good at that Equalization thing, in any case. She keeps herself pure for me."

"In more ways than one," Homura said under her breath.

Sayaka tried to get a look at the state of Homura's soul, but she already had the gem in ring form. "What about you? Are you using extra Grief Seeds, or are you and Kyouko doing the Soul Gem thing?"

"None of your concern," Homura said with a hair flip. Honestly, this line of questioning peeved her. She had used her last spare Grief Seed a few days before. She had no choice but to do the "Soul Gem thing" with someone sometime.

The Soul Gem thing being Equalization, a process Hitomi had discovered some time ago. It involved using a Soul Gem to equalize the grief within another Soul Gem. From what Homura had heard, it was also a very personal process, one that required one girl to walk through the other's soul to find the source of corruption.

And Sayaka had immediately assumed she would do it with Kyouko, even if the redhead was the most logical choice. But still. Homura didn't want to be reminded of it.

"Speaking of the devil, why didn't you ask Kyouko to fight you?" Homura asked out of mild curiosity. She and Sayaka weren't exactly the best of friends even if they managed to get along just fine, mostly for Kyouko's sake.

Sayaka shrugged, brushing any remaining gun powder off her clothes. "Lots of reasons. I've fought Kyouko plenty of times."

"But she still beats you," Homura pointed out needlessly.

Sayaka didn't appreciate this observation. "She wouldn't be my teacher if she couldn't. But I wanted to try my hand with a different kind of fighter. I'm used to melee fighting, but not with mid-range users like you. I want to make sure I'm prepared for anything." Sayaka's mind tirelessly went back to how useless she had been during the fighting. Sayaka swore to herself that day that she wouldn't be helpless again. She would the protector, not the one being protected.

"Still not hearing these many reasons." Homura's indifferent voice thankfully snapped Sayaka back to the present. At this point Sayaka was losing her limp and she was able to walk side by side with Homura.

"Well, Kyouko is pretty busy these days."

Homura figured Sayaka was referring to Kyouko's new job. "She's not that busy. You know she'd blow off work easily if you asked her to."

Sayaka blushed slightly since she knew exactly why Kyouko would do that for her. "Well, yeah, but…" she stammered for a moment, embarrassed. "She's getting her life together, and I'm proud of her for that. I wouldn't want to do anything that would make Kyouko lose focus."

Homura thought about telling Sayaka how she'd be doing Kyouko a favor if she got her out of there, but held in the sentiment. She didn't need Kyouko quitting in a heartbeat the moment Sayaka showed interest. There were bills to be paid, after all.

"Besides, we straight girls have to stick together!" Sayaka said with a grin.

Huh?

"What do you mean by that?" Homura asked, though she suspected she would regret asking. Sayaka suddenly looked sheepish as if she had just revealed a secret.

"Sorry. I guess it's not my place to say, but I thought Kyouko might have already told you…" Homura looked at Sayaka with the barest hint of amusement. Of course she already knew. Kyouko and Hitomi were both in love with Sayaka, and Madoka and Mami were together in every variation you can think of and ones you cannot think of. Homura of course loved Madoka herself, making Sayaka the odd one out by being the only straight girl in the group. But it looked like the blunette didn't know about Homura's preferences herself. It was funny; Homura had known the group's situations for such a long time she forgot how clueless Sayaka has been the last year.

"I just figure that we don't know each other very well, and it wouldn't hurt to hang out with a Magical Girl that, uh…" Sayaka wanted to say "a magical girl that isn't interested in me" but wasn't sure how to say it without sounding obnoxiously full of herself.

"Making assumptions, aren't you?" Homura said indifferently.

"Hm? Assuming what?" Sayaka asked cluelessly.

Homura shrugged. Well, it wasn't like it was a secret or anything at this point. "That I'm straight."

Sayaka laughed. "Well, it would be pretty improbable if five out of six of us turned out to lean that way!"

"I agree with you there. Very improbable."

"You know, when Kyouko confessed to me I couldn't stop myself from laughing. It's just ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Yes, completely ridiculous."

"I almost thought I was on my own here, but then I remembered that you like boys too, right?"

Homura decided not to comment this time.

Sayaka seemed to hesitate for the first time. "I mean, you do, right? You aren't also..?" Homura merely gave Sayaka a look and the blunette faltered a bit. "Are you?"

"Not that it matters, but I wouldn't want to be lumped in with you a second time." Homura couldn't help smirking at Sayaka's face. It was certainly priceless. Like she had just witnessed a flying pig kick her puppy into a UFO.

"Are you serious? You too?" It was strange, the first time Sayaka heard that most of her fellow Magical Girls were gay for each other, Sayaka thought it was hilarious. But with this new information a resounding thought suddenly emerged: 'Is there something wrong with me?' Sayaka shook her head to dispel the notion and try to get her face under control.

Sayaka suddenly looked at Homura warily. "So… You aren't attracted to me too, are you?"

The question caught Homura so off guard that she actually laughed. It was a short mocking laugh that more than answered Sayaka's question and the blunette blushed in embarrassment.

"Okay, okay! Stupid question, I know!" Sayaka waved off the other girl, walking slightly ahead so she couldn't witness Homura's mirth. By the time she realized this was one of the only times she'd seen Homura laugh the moment had already passed. Another question popped into her head. "Is there anyone you do like?"

Homura didn't like this question so she ignored it. "Do you plan on following me home?"

Sayaka pouted. If Homura was changing the subject than it meant there probably was someone she liked. Sayaka was curious now. What kind of person would catch the stoic girl's interest? She decided to probe a bit. "Is it Kyouko?" If Homura had been drinking something she would've done a spit-take. All Sayaka witnessed was a surprised grimace. "Is that a yes, or..?"

"NO, Sayaka Miki, that was most definitely a no." Homura said in a more annoyed fashion than usual. Sayaka's curiosity may have been piqued even more if she wasn't distracted by a particularly large piece of metal finally finding its way out of her shoulder and into her t-shirt.

"Geez, what heck is this, a screwdriver?" Sayaka said as she fished out the item and tossed it over her shoulder. A child cried out behind her. "What have you been putting in that thing? One of these days you're going be shooting forks at the enemy. Yeah, that's real threatening, Homura."

"I won't ask again," Homura was holding back her impatience. "Why are you following me?"

"Kyouko's job is in this direction, isn't it? I was going to say hi."

"You could've said that in the first place." Well, Homura had been planning on picking up her roommate on her way home anyway, so it wasn't like this was an inconvenience to her. As long as Sayaka stopped with her irritating questions-

"So you're telling me that you and Kyouko have never done anything together despite both of you being into girls and living in the same apartment?"

The previous thought had come too soon. "Your powers of deduction are amazing, or rather the lack thereof." she answered with a tad of sarcasm. "Kyouko loves you. As for me, I'm… not interested in having a relationship, let alone with Kyouko of all people." Homura took a deep breath. Not wanting a relationship was an outright lie, but if it wasn't happening with Madoka, then… "Besides, we're Magical Girls. We have enough grief to deal with." Literally.

Sayaka played with the ring on her finger a bit, mulling over Homura's words. "But I can't return Kyouko's feelings," she stated bluntly. Homura inwardly winced, feeling sympathy for the redhead. "And I think because we're Magical Girls, it's important to cherish the relationships we have. Kyouko deserves to be happy with someone," She glanced furtively at the raven-haired girl. "And you and Kyouko seem rather close, so I figured there might be something there."

"If you're implying that I can make that girl happy, I already am. I provide food." Sayaka seemed to appreciate Homura's small joke. Except it wasn't a joke. "Don't go voicing your unnecessary ideas. Kyouko and I are just friends."

"Yeah, yeah," Sayaka stretched her arms over her head. "Still can't believe everyone is gay." The comment prompted a slight smirk from the other Magical Girl. They were only a short block away from Kyouko's work place. And Sayaka finally seemed to stop asking questions, so at least Homura might have a moment of peace…

"You and Kyouko would look good together," Sayaka said jokingly.

This was even more annoying than the questions! While Homura entertained the thought of shooting the blunette between the eyes, they approached a grocery store. The person they were looking for was apparently an employee. One easily found as well. It was easy to spot someone letting out an output of misery so noticeable.

"Have a nice day…" Kyouko muttered to the four hundredth eleventh person she rang up at the register that day. She kept track.

"Hey, Kyou," Homura greeted as she approached the apron-wearing cashier. "Ready to head home yet?"

Kyouko brightened up upon seeing her, something Homura would never get used to. "Been ready since I got here!" The redhead looked around her as if searching for something. "Just need to wait for the next person to come and relieve me and I can get the hell out of here."

Homura crossed her arms loosely and leaned against a nearby wall. "Hurry up, then. I have a favor to ask you when we get home."

"Hm? A favor?" Kyouko looked back at the raven haired girl, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Last time you said that, I got this damn job."

"Yes, and I appreciate that very much," Homura said in the most unappreciative way possible. Kyouko rolled her eyes and turned her back on her roommate. Just because Homura was letting her stay at her apartment, didn't mean Kyouko had to do everything she asked of her. But it wasn't exactly often Homura asked for favors either, though. She'll see what this favor was. But when she turned her back to one infuriating person, she was met with another person that infuriated her in a different way. Sayaka was grinning cheekily at her, holding up a bag of chips and bottled soda.

"The hell are you smiling at?" Kyouko grumbled, snatching the items from Sayaka's hands to scan the bar codes, even as she started smiling herself. Sayaka smiling at her was always infectious.

"You should be proud. I landed a hit on Homura today!" Sayaka said gloatingly. Behind Kyouko, Homura narrowed her eyes slightly at the blunette. Kyouko appeared unimpressed by the news.

"Yeah? Only a hit? Tell you what," Kyouko leaned over to Sayaka conspiratorially. "Next time, we'll team up and kick her ass up and down Mitakihara. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Not with our Soul Gems in this condition you're not." Homura spoke up.

"Says the one who took my job of beating Sayaka up," Kyouko shot back.

Homura sighed as if dealing with someone much less intelligent than her. "Even with your souls in peak condition, you still wouldn't be able to beat me."

"Hey!" Kyouko turned to face her roommate. "You know we're going to take you up on that challenge later, right?"

"How predictable of you, Kyouko. Let me guess – you'll even do a little dance if you manage to succeed?"

Kyouko turned back to Sayaka with an annoyed look. "Kick a little ass, do a little dance. That's the plan." Sayaka bit back a grin at the pair's interaction. Now that she knew about Homura's preferences, she couldn't help considering the two as a potential couple. She didn't see why it wouldn't work out. It actually made a lot of sense if she thought about it. She then spotted a large ominous figure standing behind Kyouko.

"Is that how you treat customers, Sakura?" The female manager of the store said from behind the Magical Girl.

Kyouko stiffened a little at those words, turning around to look at her manager while holding back the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm off now that you're here."

"You're not clocked out yet," the manager replied. "And I don't see you smiling at your customer."

Kyouko glowered at the manager for a moment before turning back to Sayaka slowly. The blunette waited to see what would happen when something strange happened to Kyouko's face. There was an unnatural brightness that came with Kyouko's friendliest smile ever, complete with false sunshine. "Would you like paper or plastic?" Kyouko chirped.

Sayaka burst out pointing and laughing. "AHAHA! Paper or plastic?!" She turned to Homura. "She asked me for paper or plastic!"

"Your talents of observation continue to surprise me," Homura answered, not amused.

A vein throbbed on Kyouko's forehead even as she kept smiling cheerily. "That's right, keep talking. I'll get over you faster," she grumbled through clenched teeth. At least the manager looked satisfied and let Kyouko clock out of her station at that point. The redhead then readily escorted the two other girls out of the store. And by escort, I mean she ran ahead of them and got the hell out of her workplace.

Sayaka and Homura shared a look on behalf of Kyouko's manners. "Go ahead and take her home. I still got a bit of shopping to do," said Sayaka. Homura nodded, walking after the redhead. She didn't walk long before she heard Sayaka's singing voice behind her. "She was walking her home~, holding her hand~" Homura could almost hear the cheeky grin Sayaka was displaying and felt so irritated it took a year off her life.

She met up with an impatient Kyouko outside the store and informed her of Sayaka's continued shopping adventures. "Hopefully she checks out the frozen food aisle. Twenty cents for a hot pocket is a steal any day of the week," Kyouko said quite seriously. When met with Homura's telling silence Kyouko realized it was time to quit her job. She didn't let Homura in on this little revelation.

From there it was only a short walk back to Homura's apartment. It was spent quietly for the most part, Kyouko content with never going back to that horrid place again, Homura stuck with that "walking her home" song in her head. Damn that Sayaka.

When they arrived the fridge was immediately invaded by greedy hands. "So, what was this favor you wanted to ask of me?" Kyouko went straight to the point and straight to the milk carton. She pulled the front open and put the carton to her lips, managing to score a few gulps before Homura snatched the carton from her hand and placed it back in the fridge.

"My favor, Kyou," Homura placed her darkened Soul Gem on the table, "has to do with you helping me with this." Kyouko stared at the gem with a neutral expression.

"You better not be asking me to equalize that."

"No," Homura picked her Soul Gem back up and returned it to ring form. "I wouldn't ask you to do that. What I'm asking is for you to take care of this apartment while I'm away."

Kyouko waved a hand at Homura to cut her off. "Whoa whoa, hold up. What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to be leaving the city for a little while," Homura explained calmly. "The reality of the situation is that we're starved for Grief Seeds, and I intend to go on a mission to hunt."

Kyouko seemed surprisingly baffled. "You do realize what the hell you're saying, right?"

"I do." Homura was willing to leave Mitakihara in search of Grief Seeds. Willing to leave Madoka, most notably.

Kyouko stared at Homura in disbelief. "…A year ago you wouldn't even consider it."

"A lot of things change in a year." A year ago, Homura would have never considered leaving Madoka without her protection. But maybe now, it was what she needed the most for herself.

Kyouko stayed silent for a moment, regarding Homura as if measuring whether the other girl was actually serious. Eventually, a grin slowly formed on her lips. "If you're going on a trip, then I'm coming with you."

Homura had suspected Kyouko would say that. "Why?"

Kyouko stepped closer to Homura, eyes bright with underlying excitement. "I've been out of this city before. I know all the good Witch territories, and I'll be able to tell you where there are aggressive Magical Girls. And hell, going on a hunting trip for Grief Seeds with you sounds like it might be pretty fun."

Homura considered the suggestion while looking into Kyouko's eyes. "It's not a trip to have fun. If I go, I'll be bringing back enough seeds for everyone to get along for a while longer."

"You're saying that as if you haven't been bored out of your mind this whole time." At Homura's confirming silence, Kyouko's grin turned mischievous. "We can also slap some other Magical Girls around for fun while we're out. C'mon, it'll be a blast!" Kyouko insisted, closing the distance between them one more step.

Kyouko was able to draw an amused smile from Homura. "You're terrible."

"So are you. That's why we get along."

Homura had the urge to roll her eyes, but did not disagree with that point. That's what she liked about Kyouko; they both knew each other at their worst. When it came down to it, neither of them were exactly splendid people. But they understood that about each other and threw up no pretenses. The people they loved brought the best from them, the people they loved being Madoka and Sayaka. For them, they would do anything. But with each other, they could be as bad as they wanted to be and not get judged for it.

"Do what you want."

Kyouko grinned widely at Homura's yield, looking like she was a second away from hugging her. "You only say that when you know you can't stop me."

'Like I would stop you.' Truthfully, Homura was relieved beyond reason that Kyouko would be accompanying her on this excursion. "We'll leave in the morning. The sooner the better."

"Good, I don't have much to pack. We should probably let the others know. Let me call Sayaka though. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to know we'll be gone for a little while."

Homura pulled out her cell phone at the suggestion. "Maybe the Incubators will show up while we're away."

"What're they gonna do? Observe us curiously to death?" Kyouko said sarcastically as she leaned against a nearby wall. "You're too uptight about it."

Madoka's number was at the top of Homura's call list. "Caution is never too much to ask for."

"Yeah, yeah. Just call Madoka and Mami already."

Homura inwardly cringed. It wasn't like she didn't want to talk to Madoka, quite the opposite. She just wasn't fond of the idea that Mami would now be able to listen in on their every conversation since she now shared Madoka's body. She will never get used to that idea. Ever. After a moment's hesitation, Homura sucked up her discomfort and pressed dial. The phone rang for a while. Right when Homura felt she would just leave the pair a message, the phone was answered and Madoka's sweet voice filled the line.

"Hello?" Homura almost forgot why she had hesitated when she heard Madoka's voice.

"Madoka, it's me. I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Oh, hello Homura! It feels like we haven't talked in ages! Mami says hi." Madoka's voice sounded happy, if a little worn out.

"It's been a while. Tell Mami… Well, hello, Mami," Homura said awkwardly, daring a smirking Kyouko to say something from her place on the wall. She was never very good at conversing over phones, let alone with the girl she loved who had another person inside her. It just wasn't territory anyone could get used to. Homura cleared her throat.

"The reason I'm calling is to let you know that I've decided that we all need spare Grief Seeds for us to get by. So Kyouko and I will be out of town for a while to do just that." Homura explained briefly. There was a pause on the other end of the line as Madoka processed the sudden information.

"So you and Kyouko are going on a road trip?"

"It's not a trip, it's a mission," Homura found herself explaining once again, albeit with much more patience with Madoka.

"A mission… to have fun?" Kyouko snorted in amusement, and Homura turned her back to her.

"It's good to hear you in high spirits, Madoka." Homura sounded genuinely happy for her. Kyouko rolled her eyes in annoyance. If it was her, Homura would just scold or ignore her, but if it was Madoka, then she's in "high spirits." Kyouko pouted at Homura's back.

"Well, I keep learning new benefits from having Mami stay in me." Madoka reported happily.

"Oh really? Such as?" Homura asked politely.

"My homework is now infinitely easier to do." Homura smiled despite herself. Only someone like Madoka could make it sound like having Mami stuck in her body was a good thing. "How long will you and Kyouko be gone?"

"No more than a couple of weeks."

"I see. I hope you two have plenty of fun and don't worry too much about us. Mitakihara will still be standing when you come back."

"I have no doubt it will. I know I'll be leaving this city in capable hands."

"See? Then, have a nice trip, Homura."

"It's not a trip, it's- well, alright." Homura gave in with a sigh. Too much fun on this mission was exactly what she was afraid of, though. The raven-haired girl briefly considered saying that she'll miss Madoka.

"I'll miss you, Homura!" Madoka beat her to the punch.

"I… I'll mi-"

"Mami will miss you too. And we'll miss Kyouko as well!" Funny, after all this time, this never got any easier to deal with.

"I'll let Kyouko know. We'll be leaving in the morning."

"Can I see you off?"

"I appreciate the thought, but you should focus on your school work."

"And what about your own school work, Homura?"

"I'm ahead, I can afford a couple of weeks off. You on the other hand could use all the help Mami can provide you." A small silly smile spread across the stern girl's lips as she poked a little fun at her crush. Maybe it did get a little easier over time…

Just then Kyouko rammed her shoulder into Homura's back in annoyance. "How long are you going to talk?"

Homura really, really wanted to kill Kyouko at that moment. "Madoka, this is goodbye. I think I've found my first kill."

"This trip isn't going to last very long, is it?" Madoka pointed out to herself, or perhaps to Mami. Homura hung up before she could find out.

"I would ask what your problem is, but I already know you lack manners and any ethics entirely." Homura chucked the device at Kyouko's head.

"Shut up," Kyouko grumbled as she snatched the device from the air before it hit her head and quickly dialed Sayaka's number. After a few rather annoying rings and the click of someone answering, Kyouko wasted no time.

"Yo, Sayaka, Homura and I are going on a trip!"

"It's not a trip, how many times must I repeat myself?" Homura sighed before sitting down heavily in the one couch the main room had. Today hasn't exactly been going in her favor.

"… Kyouko?" Sayaka answered after several seconds pause. "Huh?"

"Listen the first time I tell you something. Homura and I are going on a trip starting tomorrow, to get your useless behinds some Grief Seeds. You following?"

"… Wait, you and Homura are leaving town together? Why? What?"

"I know you're not quick on the uptake, but damn, try to keep up here." Homura's lips quirked up in amusement as she listened to their conversation. "In other words, you and Hitomi are going have to take care of this city for a couple of weeks while Homura and I are away. Think you can handle that?"

"What are we, chopped liver?" Kyouko could almost hear the grin in Sayaka's words.

"So that you understand. Any questions?"

"Yeah. You and Homura? On a trip out of town? Alone, together?" Sayaka inquired. Kyouko raised her brow at the tone of voice her pupil was using.

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing. Just making a simple observation." was Sayaka's mock-innocent answer.

"Whatever," Kyouko dismissed whatever Sayaka was trying to imply. "Anyway, we'll be gone for a while. A couple of weeks or something. Won't be the first time I left town, so don't miss me too much, okay?"

"Just make sure you get your butt back here." said Sayaka, making Kyouko soften slightly.

"Maybe I'll return faster if I had some motivation…" Kyouko trailed off suggestively. When she waited for Sayaka's predictable response, all she heard was the click of being hung up on. "That went well."

Homura caught the phone that was tossed at her head. "Sayaka seems to have some strange… ideas about the two of us." Kyouko grinned in response to her words.

"What kind of ideas?" she asked, sitting down right next to Homura and giving her a wide-eyed questioning look. Homura raised a brow at Kyouko's closeness and sarcastic look. "Anything kinky?" Kyouko brought her face closer to Homura, but the other girl didn't move an inch.

"I doubt she has the mental capacity for anything kinky, so no." Homura answered straight away. Kyouko pulled her head back and laughed.

"You have a point there, Hom!" Homura used her finger to push the redhead away from her.

"That being said, I'd appreciate if you discouraged any crazy ideas about us." Kyouko sprawled out on the couch she also used as a bed.

"Why? It's not like we've never thought about it ourselves." Kyouko was referring to the time she brought up the possibility that the two of them should settle for each other if things didn't work out with their respective love interests. It had been a good laugh, and something to consider for the both of them.

"When I finally succumb to insanity, I shall consider it," Homura played along sarcastically. She made a mental note to herself to get more furniture for this room, since they could only share one couch. Their apartment was rather barren at the moment since they haven't gotten around to renovations yet.

Kyouko stared at the spot on the wall where the TV would be, if Homura ever gave in to her demands of having a TV. Her eyes went back to Homura, who was doing something on her phone. "What are you doing?"

"I've got some preparations to take care of." Homura was scrolling through something or another.

Kyouko figured that by preparations, she meant things like planning and booking their entire route or something stupid like that. "You do that. I'm quitting my job, by the way."

"I'm just surprised you lasted as long as you did." Homura raised a brow when Kyouko rested her feet in her lap.

The redhead shrugged. "I had a discount."

Homura pushed Kyouko's feet off of her. "Since when do you care about discounts?"

"That's what I realized. Hence the quitting."

"As long as you pay some bills, I don't really care how you get the money." Homura started typing away at her phone.

"Pay your own damn bills." Kyouko curled up, the bottoms of her feet warm against Homura's thigh. "Do you mind doing this on your own bed?"

"I get a better signal from this spot." she replied. Kyouko rolled over on the already cramped couch, grumbling and pushing her feet into Homura's lap again. Annoyed, but not pushing the feet away a second time, Homura made their preparations. "Don't you have anything better to do than lazing around?"

"I'm comfortable." The redhead answered in a lazy voice. Homura sighed and continued doing her research, feeling aware of Kyouko's bare and rough feet.

Kyouko shut her eyes, an excited grin on her face. A trip with Homura was sure to be amusing in its own right. "Hey, Hom. Is there anything else you want to do while we're out?"

Homura thumbed through pages of tourist attractions in nearby cities. "Not succumb to insanity."

.-.-.-.

The next morning the duo packed and left without a hitch, even if Homura had to drag a still-sleepy Kyouko all the way to their destination. They were now at a train station, waiting for the next train to take them to their first hunting ground. Kyouko was sitting on top of a duffel bag while Homura had her pack slung over her shoulder. Kyouko watched Homura from the corner of her eye while the black haired girl looked around the slightly crowded platform. It was so obvious who she was looking for, it hurt Kyouko to watch.

"You told her not to come, so why are you even looking?" the redhead said out loud, referring to Madoka. Homura pointedly ignored Kyouko, though she stopped turning her head to search through the faces. Kyouko had a point, she herself told Madoka to not bother seeing them off. But she still wanted to see the pinkette's face before she left. Leaving the city with Madoka in it was making an ache form in her chest. It was an ache she was choosing to ignore.

When their train pulled up, Kyouko was the first to board and claim a spot by hurling her duffel bag into the nearest window seat. Homura hung back on the platform, perhaps half-hoping Madoka would show up at the last moment. "Hom! You coming or not?" Kyouko motioned for her roommate to get on. The other girl was merely staring at her though, in a way that was somehow sad. Her feet felt like lead when she finally stepped onto the train. And when they departed, it felt like she left a part of herself back in Mitakihara City. But she left knowing that she had made the choice to leave, and that the part of herself she left behind was a dead weight. This trip with Kyouko- it was the right choice to make.

Probably.

"I left my heart in San Francisco~" Kyouko sang under her breath. Homura turned her head slowly to the girl she was sitting next to.

"What is wrong with you people?" Homura asked irritably, remembering Sayaka's cheeky singing and Kyouko's smirk now.

"I just wanted to set the mood!" Kyouko said in mock defense. "Besides, it's not like I don't know how you feel," she went on, a bit more serious now. "I feel like every time I turn around, Hitomi's gonna make a move on Sayaka behind my back."

"I wouldn't worry. Sayaka neither belongs to you nor leans that way."

Kyouko sulked in her seat. "You don't have to remind me."

"It could've been worse. Your rival could've been sealed into the same mind and body as the person you love."

"Point taken." Kyouko relented, leaning back in her seat and staring out the window. Their conversations always seemed to take the same depressing turn. "This vacation will do us some good. We need a break from all that drama we put ourselves through. I think we deserve to forget about our significant others for a week or two."

Homura rested her head against the seat, feeling tired. "Easier said than done."

"I know. But we can pretend. For a while, anyway." Their hands bumped against each other on the same arm rest. It took a second longer than necessary for them to pull away.

The ride was about a couple of hours, but they managed to reach their destination without Kyouko going crazy from being cramped in that space next to someone as entertaining as Homura. Homura herself had no trouble sitting in silence the entire ride. The destination they arrived at was a couple of cities away from Mitakihara, close enough to go back quickly if need arose, but far enough away that any new enemies wouldn't be able to track them home so easily. They would try their hands at hunting Witches here.

Kyouko was quick to suggest the "perfect hotel" when they arrived. "I know a guy who can get us in free," she explained to a skeptical Homura… and technically, she wasn't lying. When they entered the lobby of the hotel Kyouko had suggested, the guy at the receptionist desk paled and attempted to sneak away in the most obvious way possible. Kyouko blocked off his escape and whispered what Homura guessed were various promises of unpleasant things. The man was quick to gesture to the nearest bellhop to escort them to a room.

"See? Piece of cake," Kyouko said as she followed the bellhop to their room.

"Convenient," Homura agreed.

.-.-.

"- And make sure to remind him that I have his momma on speed dial, and don't even bother the cops with this unless he wants a repeat of the last incident!" Kyouko was telling the bellhop in a loud voice while Homura set her bags down in the room and looked around.

"A-anything else?" the flustered man asked. Kyouko thought about it. "Bring us a couple of those turkey club sandwiches with the stuff on it. You know the one." She then pushed the poor guy out the door and shut it. "Pretty sweet digs, right Hom?"

Homura claimed her bed by placing her traveling bag on it. Kyouko claimed her bed by flopping down and leaving the impression of her face on the pillow. "Not going to ask how I got to stay at this hotel?" She sounded almost disappointed. "It's actually a pretty funny story."

"I'm not interested in your little adventures. As long as it works out in our favor." Homura looked out the window, mentally checking the time. "Be ready to leave in the next ten minutes. I want to get hunting as soon possible." Homura knew she had to establish her authority over this hunting tri- ... mission. This hunting mission- or Kyouko would do whatever she wanted.

Kyouko was kicking her shoes off instead. "What about lunch?"

"What about lunch?"

"We got those sandwiches coming up," Kyouko pointed out. "And I'm hungry. We should eat before we head out."

It was a reasonable enough suggestion, so Homura relented. "Fine. Sandwiches, then hunting."

"What if I want to take a bath?" Kyouko asked. Homura sighed in annoyance.

"Couldn't you have done that before we left?"

"I wanted to steal some little hotel shampoo bottles."

If Homura wasn't more familiar with Kyouko, she might have facepalmed. "We don't have the time to mess around, Kyouko. We're on a mission. The lives of the others depend on us."

There was a knock on the door just then, which Kyouko sprung up to answer. "Room service is here!" Homura's talk was effectively ignored in the face of sandwiches. Kyouko grabbed her share and threw herself face-first into her bed again. "I've almost forgotten what a bed feels like!"

Homura shook her head and grabbed her own sandwich. "Just don't get too comfortable."

"I got it, Hom. No smiling, no laughing, no fun." Kyouko ate her sandwich in a few big bites. "So what's the plan?" She picked the crumbs off her clothes and ate those as well.

"We'll split up and search the city," Homura said, removing the crust from her bread. She tossed them to Kyouko. "Straightforward. We're just scoping out today. We'll meet back here at sundown."

"What about dinner?" Kyouko gobbled up the bread crusts handed to her.

Homura sighed and relented, deciding this was one battle already lost. "Fine. We'll meet back here before dinner."

Kyouko grinned at the thought of having food delivered to her. It had been one of her favorite things about staying at hotels. She was kind of excited about sharing this part of herself with someone for once. She had always traveled alone and vastly preferred it that way, but Homura was different. Too bad the dark haired Magical Girl was too wound up to enjoy herself.

"I'll be going ahead." Homura wrapped up the remainder of her sandwich for later and got to her feet, confirming Kyouko's thoughts. "I'll take the east, you take the west."

Kyouko brushed her lap off, raising a brow at her friend. "You're eager. Feeling dirty?"

"With you around? All the time." Homura brushed her hair aside as she made her way to the door.

"Be careful out there. I don't have to tell you how territorial Magical Girls tend to be." Kyouko called out before the other girl touched the door knob.

"Then don't tell me."

The redhead shrugged. "Just call me if you need backup. I saw the state your Soul Gem was in, remember? You're walking a line right now."

Homura turned the doorknob and walked out of the room as she said the words "Duly noted."

.-.-.-.

Homura staggered once she was certain her last opponent hit the ground with a bloody wet sound. She caught her breath as she eyed the bodies of two scattered Magical Girls laying a few feet away from her in various states of unconscious defeat. Homura was the last one standing. They had been fighting for the rights to the only Witch to appear that day. After several hours of scoping out the city, Homura confirmed a nagging feeling in her gut. The city was completely dry of magic. According to Kyouko, this city had once been a buffet of Grief Seeds, but that was certainly not the case now. As soon as a Witch appeared Homura had rushed to the scene, along with these two other Magical Girls. The two hadn't been working together or teamed up to take down Homura; it was an every-Magical Girl-for-herself fight.

The dark haired girl looked around her, noticing that the Witch they had been fighting for was nowhere to be sensed. She felt the fleeing presence of a third Magical Girl and realized someone else had sneaked in and claimed the Grief Seed while she had been occupied with these two. Her heart dropped in her chest and she felt an immense rush of anger towards herself. This wasn't like her. She wasn't focusing enough today. It was probably the corruption in her Soul Gem that was making her act rashly.

Annoyed, Homura sat down and watched the two other bodies. One of them was bound to go Witch after the beating Homura dished out. It was times like these Homura wished she still had her time-stop abilities. Not that she didn't still kick ass without it.

"Jesus. Didn't I tell you to call me if you needed help?" Kyouko dropped down on the scene, red-tipped spear grasped in her hand.

"Everything is under control." Homura informed, wiping away a trickle of blood from her forehead. It had been a lucky shot.

"Then call me for the party, not the hangover." Kyouko toed one of the unconscious Magical Girls. "Whatever happened to just scoping out today?"

"This is me scoping." Homura was an expert at shaking off the look of fatigue. "Any Grief Seed?"

Kyouko shook her head no. "Nothing. City is completely dried out! Only magic I felt at all today was your 'scoping.'" Kyouko eyed Homura, who held her Soul Gem out of sight. "Speaking of, you sure spent a lot of magic without getting the Seed in the end."

Homura gestured to the two beaten Magical Girls. "One of them is bound to turn sooner or later."

"Oh, my bad," Kyouko said sarcastically. "Because picking them fresh is always a good idea."

"We'll be fine between the two of us," Homura said, glaring at the ground in front of her.

"Not that I don't appreciate the vote of confidence," Kyouko gave her spear an annoyed twirl between her fingers. "But it's past dinner. Let's turn in and try again tomorrow."

"There may not be anything here tomorrow," Homura responded in a frustrated tone, annoyed that Kyouko would let this chance slip. A surprised yelp then escaped her lips when Kyouko whopped the flat side of her spear against Homura's ass.

"Ha! Just as I thought!" Kyouko crowed triumphantly. Homura was giving her a murderous glare.

"You had the thought that you wanted to die today?" She felt the back of her skirt with her hand in case Kyouko sliced the fabric open.

"If you were in decent condition, you would've avoided that," Kyouko said smugly, rather proud of her observation.

Homura just stared, not convinced on sparing Kyouko her life. The redhead picked up on the look real quick and tried to explain herself further.

"My point is, you should relax and eat something before your Soul Gem explodes." A loud groan followed up Kyouko's statement from one of the fallen Magical Girls. The other girl was stirring and attempting to sit up. Kyouko pointed at them, emphasizing her point. "And it looks like these two chicks will live to annoy another day!"

Homura closed her eyes and sighed, the sight of the two girls showing signs of pulling through tiring her. "Let's just get out of here." Her shield made clicking sounds as if disarming itself. Kyouko breathed a sigh of relief as the shield wielder started walking away, covering up her slight limp.

When they got back to the hotel, Kyouko wasted no time making her way to the phone and calling up room service for dinner. Homura sank onto her bed tiredly, taking her ring off and letting it grow into its default form. The Soul Gem in her palm was murkier than ever. Homura was actually starting to worry. If she didn't get this cleaned soon it would present a serious problem. Kyouko was ending her phone conversation that consisted of demanding a six-course meal when Homura finally decided to ask.

"Kyouko... would you Equalize my Gem?"

"No way in hell."

Homura expected that response, but she always had hidden arsenal. "… Please?"

As expected, the word blind-sided the redhead and was extremely effective. "Damn it all to hell."

.-.-.-.

"I hate this," Kyouko made known for the hundredth time in the last few minutes.

"You know I'm reluctant to do this as well," Homura said after mentally counting to ten.

They sat cross-legged on the floor facing each other, their Soul Gems sitting in front of them. It was apparent that a cleansing was well overdue for Homura, whose Soul Gem was especially muddled. What came as a surprise though was the steady clear state of Kyouko's red gem. Apparently, she'd barely used any magic at all in the past couple of weeks. It annoyed Homura to think she was internally dirtier than the redhead across from her - that was really saying something. But she had put this off for as long as possible, so performing Soul Gem Equalization had become inevitable.

Kyouko didn't exactly have fond memories of this process. She had only done it twice before, but both times were enough to convince her that everyone was nucking futs on the inside. While Mami had assured her it could be a pleasant experience under the right conditions, Kyouko was certain the blonde was full of shit. Nothing good could possibly come from taking a stroll through another person's soul.

And yet, here she was again. There was something to be said about Homura asking her to do this; the long-haired girl probably wouldn't entrust anyone else with this task. Kyouko felt the same way, and thereby had reluctantly agreed to Homura's request. She knew Homura wouldn't mess with her head like Hitomi had. And while Kyouko loved Sayaka, she wasn't exactly eager to bite that particular bullet twice. Whatever was about to happen in Homura's soul would likely stay between them. This was a silent, mutual understanding.

"If you're not going to do it, I'll do it." Homura said with finality, bringing her Soul Gem to Kyouko's, but the redhead swatted her hand away.

"No way, not gonna happen."

"Then stop your complaining."

"Fine," Kyouko said through clenched teeth. "So… you ready?" Kyouko asked, rolling her shoulders like this would be a physical exercise. "Let's try to finish this before room service gets here with my dinner."

"Just get this over with," Homura answered noncommittally.

"Have I mentioned I hate this?" Kyouko asked with a jackass grin just to put this off a moment longer. At Homura's "I'm going to hit you" glare, Kyouko sighed and placed her red Soul Gem against Homura's. There was a nauseating pulling sensation in her chest, which meant it was working. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again she was in a different place entirely. Namely, inside Homura's soul.

Kyouko suddenly found herself drenched from an impressive downpour. She cursed under breath. Of course it would be raining inside Homura's soul. Why did she expect anything else?

Kyouko pulled her hood over her head, though it didn't exactly help much against the colorless blobs of water. If she remembered correctly, the trick to this gig was to search for a way to drain the built-up grief from Homura's soul. It was different for everybody, depending on their soul. The sign that she had succeeded was a white colored vapor-like stuff that meant the corruption was equalizing.

There presented an immediate problem. The rain was so thick Kyouko could barely see two feet in front of her and the noise alone was deafening. Figuring out the source of corruption was going to be a pain in her ass unless some useful clue suddenly fell into her lap.

Even with annoying drops splashing her from all sides, it was easy to feel the sudden warmth of a hand grabbing her own. Kyouko was so startled she gave a shout and tried to yank her hand away, but the other person kept their grip and actually managed to pull Kyouko along in some random direction.

Kyouko naturally resisted against the force, only seeing the dark outline of the person pulling her by the arm, someone around her height. Kyouko stopped struggling after a moment, halfheartedly realizing that she really had no choice but to go with the flow in this situation. It was either stick around in this weather or follow this clue. The aforementioned "clue" was walking pretty quickly though the rains, tripping over their own feet every once in a while and not looking like the most reliable guide. But at least they moved like they knew where they were going.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Kyouko finally asked in a voice barely restrained with irritation. She had to raise her voice just so she could hear herself over the downpour. The figure holding her hand either didn't hear her or didn't answer. It annoyed her to no end. It was like dealing with Homura, except it was Homura she was dealing with, except on an entirely different level!

It was difficult to tell if a minute or an hour went by, but they eventually reached a space where the rain didn't reach. It took a minute to realize that fact since Kyouko was soaked through her clothes anyway and the constant patter of the rain against her skin had her feeling slightly numb. She removed her hood from her head, shaking out her hair to get the droplets out like an unruly animal.

"Geez, it's not like I hate the rain myself, but that's just a bit… much…" The redhead trailed off when she finally got a good look at the person who dragged her to this place, the place being a small and dark cave with a small fire going in the center. Otherwise, there was nothing particularly noteworthy. Kyouko's attention was suddenly snapped up by the girl in front of her wearing two braids and glasses.

"Jesus, is that you, Homura?" Kyouko almost hadn't recognized her and she was impressively startled by her appearance. The aforementioned Homura Akemi squirmed where she stood; wringing her hands in nervousness as Kyouko openly stared at her.

"Yes, it's me. I, um," Homura tucked some hair behind her ear. Surprisingly, she didn't appear wet at all from the rain. "I'm just finally glad I got to meet you…"

"Meet me? Right, sure…" Kyouko was wringing out her ponytail, still weirded out by the whole situation. She never expected to ever see Homura looking so, so… Kyouko couldn't think of the right word. "Listen, if you could tell me the quickest way to drain the grief from your soul, I can get the hell out of here faster." Kyouko's hands were suddenly grasped against her will again by this odd version of Homura. The braided-haired girl was looking at Kyouko with pleading violet eyes.

"I-It's been so long since I've had a real friend!" Homura said in an urgent but hushed voice. Her face was real close to Kyouko's and the redhead leaned back away from the other girl.

"No kidding, you're not exactly the most sociable person on the planet…" Kyouko muttered, even if this version of Homura was screwing with the perception of the Homura she knew. This Homura shook her head.

"I wasn't always like this…" She took one of Kyouko's hands and placed it on her chest. "I used to be just shy. Well, I suppose I still am shy, just in a… colder way." Homura mused while Kyouko stared at her hand on Homura's chest, unable to comprehend what the heck this girl was talking about. She wasn't used to a touchy-feely Homura.

"Uh, that's great and all," Kyouko quickly snatched her hand away, a hint of red on her cheeks. "So how do I drain away your corruption?" She really just wanted to get this over with. Homura looked saddened by Kyouko's hurrying.

"I…" Small pinpricks of tears gathered behind those thick glasses. "I'm just so alone…" she started quietly sniffling. Kyouko was dumbfounded. Seeing Homura cry so meekly was just one too many items on her "thing's I would never see Homura do" list. She sighed, slightly annoyed she wasn't getting any straight answers off this chick.

"Are you saying that I just gotta not let you be alone to help you, or something?" Homura nodded quickly, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "And how the hell do I do that? I'm certainly not gonna stick around, if that's what you want," Kyouko said, deciding to be short with the girl. Homura looked even more saddened by her words.

"Th-then…" Homura said quietly to herself, a fierce blush coloring her cheeks as she shyly came closer to Kyouko. The redhead, suddenly interested since it looked she'll finally get that answer, leaned in her ear to better hear the quiet girl. Homura paused, seemingly internally squabbling, before she quickly leaned over and planted a kiss on Kyouko's cheek. After that was done, the shy girl retreated as quickly as she sprung the kiss, hugging her knees by the small fire kindling within the small cave.

Kyouko herself stood motionlessly, that act taking her completely off guard. "The hell was that, Homura?" she spluttered, raising her hand to her cheek and feeling the heat gathering there. And not just the heat of embarrassment either. Taking her hand away from her cheek, she saw a smoky white substance coming off her hand, a tell-tale sign of soul Equalization. Oh hell no…

It was only a tiny amount though. A kiss brought about this cleansing? Really? So what she had to do to cleanse Homura's soul was… Kyouko didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified. She had been prepared for anything, everything, except this. She looked over at the other girl in the cave in sudden consideration. Well, it wasn't like Homura was unattractive or anything…

"Eep!" Homura jumped when she felt a pair of lips press against the nape of her neck in between her two braids. Kyouko watched as white smoke rose from the area she kissed. She almost started laughing hysterically. She was going to be driven completely crazy if she kept walking through other people's souls. Well, she'll definitely be teasing Homura about this later, but for now business was at hand.

"H-Hey! Wait!" Homura stuttered as she turned around to face Kyouko only to be pushed down against the ground. Kyouko hovered over her, hands on either side of Homura's head as she boldly closed the distance between their faces.

"Don't worry, this is for your own good." Kyouko's smirk indicated she was enjoying this a little too much.

"Eh?!" Homura was blushing from her face down her neck and into her blouse, and Kyouko's eyes followed with interest.

'This is totally professional. A… purely professional soul Equalization.' Kyouko told herself as she brought her face closer to the familiar yet unfamiliar face of her friend. In the back of her mind she knew she had entertained the thought of doing this with Homura once or twice. She just never imagined she would be doing it with Homura's funny soul counterpart.

Homura's resistance was practically nonexistent, her protests no more than mere whispers. "Wait…"

"No." Kyouko whispered back before she placed her lips upon Homura's. The rain fell silent.

Then a thunder clap that could shatter frail bones startled the two apart. Someone was standing over them. A rather angry looking Homura.

"I knew you were the one behind this," this new version of Homura practically growled down at them. Kyouko stared up at her with a "the fuck is this now" expression. The braided Homura under her trembled with fear. The angry version appeared to be a version Kyouko was more familiar with, no glasses and long hair hanging down her back unrestrained.

The new arrival was quick to pull Kyouko off of her other self before proceeding to talk down to... well, herself. The second Homura all but snarled down at her braided counterpart, "It's always you. Why don't you just die already?"

The glasses-bearing girl trembled before her, close to tears. "She's my friend too…" she protested weakly.

"Shut up." The other version said in a cold voice. "I could never get rid of you completely, but I'll be damned if I saw you again one more time, you weakling." She rather gave the impression of a wounded animal, defensive and lashing out.

There was another clap of thunder outside and Kyouko was tempted to just escape. But she knew she couldn't do that without making sure Homura's soul was cleansed yet. "Hey, Homura," Two pairs of violet eyes turned to her. Kyouko found the sight disconcerting. "Look, if I don't hurry, the real you is going to be in trouble. Understand?" She gestured impatiently at the other two. "So let me do my damn job and figure out the quickest way to help you out. And also, I want to get back before dinner gets there," she muttered that last sentence under her breath.

The other two Homuras in the cave glanced at each other. The standing, angry Homu regarded Kyouko with scorn. "We neither need nor want your help. I don't rely on anyone."

The sitting Homura raised a shy hand. "I kind of want to help her…"

"And when has your opinion ever been helpful?" the other snapped.

After fumbling for a moment, the braided girl got to her feet, cheeks flushed. "Kyouko is our friend!"

"So?"

Kyouko watched in slight befuddlement as Homura literally stood up to herself.

"It used to mean everything in the world to us!" she declared in a firm voice. This seemed to bring pause to the other Homura, who narrowed her eyes as the words were said. A few moments of tense silence followed until the second Homura gave a short affirming nod to the braided girl, seemingly acknowledging what she had said.

"Fine. How do we help?" she said, turning to address Kyouko.

Kyouko seemed pleased that something seemed to be going her way for once in here. "So far it seems like the thing that works is signs of affection, or something along those lines," Kyouko relayed.

"Is that why I found the two of you kissing?" Homura said with a glare in the braided girl's direction, which made her shrink and blush. Apparently all the fight had left her after her last outburst in Kyouko's defense.

"Yeah," Kyouko couldn't help a modest blush at having been caught in such an act.

"Then what we should do is obvious." The two Homura's shared a look and nodded, as if they shared and agreed to a single thought. They walked up to Kyouko, who looked between them curiously.

The shy Homura got behind Kyouko. 'The fuck is this?' Kyouko thought incredulously when the previously very shy girl placed her hands over Kyouko's chest. Then the other Homura stepped in front of her, her hands coming up to slowly pull the zipper of her soaked jacket down and peeling it away to make room for her hand. Her hand felt hot as it snaked up under the redhead's black tank top and up her taut stomach. 'The fuck is that?' Kyouko continued thinking in disbelief, the thought of resisting never entering her mind. Not that many thoughts were occurring right about now. There was a certain purpose and deliberateness to their actions that made her heart pound away fast and loud in her ears.

The Homura behind her pulled the jacket off her arms and started kissing her way timidly across her shoulders, white vapors sizzling off Kyouko's skin in her wake. A gasp escaped Kyouko's lips, and when she exhaled, even more white smoke emerged. The one in front of her grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head forward, kissing her roughly, Kyouko's hands resting on her waist as if hanging onto her sanity as she was assaulted by two pairs of lips at once. Homura's hot tongue pushed its way into her mouth, muffling Kyouko's surprised moan. She could feel a pair of hands undoing the button of her shorts and fingers peeking under the waistband of her underwear, and a different pair of hands grazing her flank, and she didn't even know whose hands belonged to who anymore! Homura broke her aggressive kiss and lowered her head to occupy her mouth elsewhere on Kyouko's body. The redhead could only gaze in disbelief ahead of her as white vapor continued to pour out from everywhere.

Then there was an overwhelming, nauseating pull at her chest and suddenly she was blinking and coughing back in the real world, Homura sitting across from her.

The very real original version of Homura was staring at Kyouko, cheeks flushed as she held her Soul Gem as far away from Kyouko as possible. The redhead stared back at her, equal parts bewildered and struck dumb. The look they shared lasted several long seconds and translated into something along the lines of "What the hell just happened?"

"Hey…" Kyouko spoke up, realizing what Homura had done. "I wasn't done in there. Your Soul Gem is still dark!" Homura got to her feet and was leaving the room abruptly. "Is that even healthy?" Kyouko asked, referring to the act of unexpectedly severing their connection.

"I think that was quite enough for today, Kyouko," Homura responded with trembling bile in her voice.

"Oh come on, just a few more minutes." Kyouko couldn't hold back her grin. "It was just starting to get interesting." Homura pointedly ignored her. Kyouko got to her feet and walked after her friend. "Seriously though, I only purified you a little bit. Let me back in and I'll make it a quickie!"

"I'd rather not be purified if it entails you de-purifying me."

"I take offense to that! I was the one who was about to be de-purified!"

Homura felt a headache coming on. 'I'm going to blame Sayaka for this.' "I'm not having a threesome with you in my head and that's final!"

"Fine! Keep the telephone pole up your ass for all I care!"

"I will!"

This was officially the strangest fight they've ever had. Luckily there was a knock at the door, severing their intense glaring contest. Kyouko muttered something about room service and stepped past Homura to answer the door. Honestly, Homura had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. She could only hope her anger flushed her cheeks more than what she had been unconsciously about to do to Kyouko in her treacherous head. Kyouko rolled their dinner pointedly past Homura and straight to her bed.

Getting a good look at the other girl, Homura was a little relieved to see the redhead was equally flustered, rubbing at her red face in frustration as she sat on her bed. "So what now?" she asked, gesturing angrily at Homura.

The dark haired girl remained on her feet even if she felt more exhausted than ever. "I'll just deal with this the old fashioned way." she said, relieved to be talking strategy again. Strategy was much easier to deal with. "We'll hunt again tomorrow, but this time together as a team. We'll move on from this city tomorrow night, regardless of outcome. We have to keep moving, especially if other cities are as dry as this one."

"You think this place got the Kyubey treatment?" Kyouko said while her finger made a slitting motion across her throat. "If Rin came through this city their Incubator must be gone, just like ours. If we want to hunt Grief Seeds we should keep out of her path of destruction as much as we can." Kyouko was referring to the Magical Girl with the ability to corrupt Incubators, and who had aided Kyouko and Homura in killing Kyubey back in their previous adventure.

"You're right," Homura nodded, starting to pace. "We should figure out what direction she's traveling and move in the opposite direction. It's an inconvenience to us to corrupt the Incubators, but we can't blame her."

"We would've done the same." Kyouko said in agreement, finally reaching for the food cart and drawing out a plate that marked the first course.

"Exactly." Homura stopped pacing at the sight of food, feeling a pang of hunger. She sat down on her bed opposite Kyouko, the food tray sitting between them like a makeshift dinner table. "I just don't envy her the clean-up."

Kyouko groaned mid-chew. "Did you have to remind me while I was eating?" She grimaced at the memory of cleaning up Kyubey's blood and guts off of their apartment walls.

"I just assumed you had a stronger stomach." Homura claimed her own plate and utensil, her brow furrowing when she finally noticed a peculiar detail about their dining cart. "Why are there candles?" she asked Kyouko, who was now illuminated in the soft candle mood-lighting across from her.

"I ordered the special for two." Kyouko explained with a shrug. "Comes with candles, apparently."

"Huh." Homura shook off the odd feeling of intimacy that apparently came with candles. Kyouko suddenly grinned at her.

"You know, dinner usually comes before the threesome, not after."

Homura snuffed out the candles immediately. She just wanted to forget that anything sexual had transpired between her and Kyouko.

.-.-.-.

The next morning they set off to hunt together. It took a few hours, but they finally sensed a Witch and tracked it down as fast as possible. What they found was incredibly… sexual.

"Does that Witch look like what I think it looks like?" Kyouko asked aloud, pointing to the huge pair of legs floating over their heads.

"Don't say it." Homura ordered, gritting her teeth.

"I can see up her-"

"I told you not to say it." Homura was having a hard time not fixating her eyes between those huge legs that happened to be displaying everything. It reminded her of the first Witch she had ever defeated. Except without the skirt.

"What was the deal with this chick anyway? Did she turn in the middle of a sex shop or something?" Kyouko kept talking, pointing out various vibrating Familiars that were suspiciously phallic-shaped. Homura quickly shot them until they dissolved.

Homura tried to get it together and get them in fighting form. "I'll distract it while you take it from behind," she ordered.

"Why do I have to be the one to take it from behind?!" Kyouko asked incredulously.

"You prefer that position, don't you?" Homura was referring to battle strategies.

The other girl had other things on her mind. "How would you know that?!" Kyouko seemed like she was torn between laughing really hard and being extremely embarrassed.

"Let's just do it already!" Homura said, extremely frustrated.

"Okay!" Kyouko cut a Familiar in half with a disgusted look on her face. "We'll come together at both angles!"

It took quite a while to defeat that particular Witch. In the end Kyouko picked up the Grief Seed from the ground and held it out to Homura, who looked at the black object wearily.

"I almost refuse to use that thing now," Homura groused.

"Not after all that crap we just saw to get it!" Kyouko protested, handing the seed to Homura. The shield wielder hesitated before taking it, placing it against her gem. The touch of a Grief Seed making contact with a Soul Gem felt like placing a cool cloth on a scalding burn wound. It actually stung her for a second before she relaxed against the accumulated corruption being absorbed from her.

"Feeling better?" Kyouko asked, watching Homura with a curious eye.

"Much." Homura took a deep breath and pocketed the Seed for another use. "If I knew I would get my Soul violated by either you or this Witch, I would've just gone with you."

"A little late for that." Kyouko smirked at her. "Now that you got your protein shake, let's get out of this town already."


	2. Chapter 2

The next city they went to was a far cry from the last one. Just one night and they already encountered a buffet of Magic.

The balcony window to a hotel room burst open, and two exhausted Magical Girls stumbled inside.

"Jesus, that was crazy!" said Kyouko as she went straight for the nearest bed. She flopped down on it heartily before yelping in pain. "Gah! They're all poking me!" The redhead hastily got up again to shake out her clothes. Several Grief Seeds hit the floor around her feet.

Homura was carrying her own handfuls of the grief containers, spilling them across the floor next to Kyouko's. "It was like a feeding frenzy. I don't remember ever fighting so many Witches in one night."

"We got pretty lucky though, didn't we?" Kyouko said with an enthused grin, holding one of the Grief Seeds to her Soul Gem to clear up the muck.

"I don't like it. Why did so many girls fall into despair on the same night? Why were there so many Magical Girls present in one city at one time, anyway?" Homura contemplated aloud, not liking the implications. "Could it be Incubators are doubling up their contracts to make up for their losses?"

"I remember that lone corrupted Incubator, Demi, sometimes rambling on about mass contracts. That might be what's going on." Kyouko said with a yawn, pulling off her clothes so that she could get a night's rest.

Homura quickly turned away from Kyouko when she spotted skin. "In any case, keep your eye out for any Incubators. I don't want us to attract too much attention."

Kyouko tossed her sweater to the ground and looked over at Homura's back with a disgruntled stare. "Maybe I wanna attract a little attention…" She was referring to gaining the Incubator' attention, but she somehow wanted Homura to turn around and look at her at that moment.

Homura turned to look at the other girl, holding her gaze for a few seconds before they each looked away. "I'm going to take a bath." She said quietly. Kyouko watched the other girl leave the room and shut the door to the bathroom behind her. With an exasperated groan, Kyouko threw herself onto her mattress. She buried her face in her pillow and mumbled expletives.

Why was she feeling so damn frustrated?

At the rate they were collecting Grief Seeds they could head back home tomorrow! Then she could see Sayaka again! So why… Kyouko lifted her head slightly so only her eyes peeked from the fluffiness of her pillow to look at the closed bathroom door. Why did she feel so reluctant to go back home? With a sigh, the redhead closed her eyes tiredly, willing her mind and body to pull her down to sleep.

It was a while until Homura emerged from the bathroom, steamed and pruned from wallowing in the water for as long as possible. She looked over at the occupied bed, an obviously sleeping Kyouko upon it.

"I blame Sayaka…" Homura murmured to herself quietly, shuffling over to Kyouko's bed. It was stupid to lay the blame on some else, she knew, but this new found tension between her and Kyouko ever since that Soul Gem Equalization seemed like an unnecessary burden in her already heavy state of mind. And she wasn't even sure how to deal with it. Was her subconscious trying to tell her something when she came on to Kyouko in her mind? Or was that just a sort of literal mind-screw on her part? And did it even matter to her at all if she did happen to find Kyouko a little attractive?

"It's creepy when you watch me sleep with that intense look on your face." Kyouko's slurred voice made Homura jump, having been lost in her thoughts. "Your bed is that way." Kyouko idly pointed at the bed across the room. "Or maybe you were waiting for an invitation?"

Annoyed, Homura turned away, heading back to her own side of the room. "We have what we came for. We'll head back to Mitakihara in the morning."

"Would it hurt if we stayed on vacation for another day?" Kyouko said, the sleep slipping from her voice as she brought up her suggestion.

"We aren't on vaca—oh, never mind." Homura finally gave up with a roll of her eyes. "And it very well could hurt. We don't know the current state of the others in Mitakihara. The sooner we go back, the better."

"They have your number. If there was an emergency, they'd let us know, don't you think? C'mon. We can go watch a movie, or kick pigeons for all I care. One more day." Kyouko tried to give Homura her most persuasive voice.

Homura was tempted. Deeply so. One more day outside of her little formed world of personal drama sounded relaxing. But it just wasn't possible. "No, it's too irresponsible. We can't keep pretending forever."

Kyouko sighed in defeat. Pretending wasn't suiting her at all. Her body didn't exactly like to be ignored. "Homura, what the hell is up with us lately?" she tossed out there on a whim.

Homura sat on her bed, towel drying her hair to distract her from Kyouko. So it hadn't just been her, after all… "What do you mean? I think we've been getting along as we always have."

"Well, yeah. But there's just something off lately, isn't there? I know it can't be just me. You can barely look me in the eye now." Kyouko sat up in bed, searching for Homura's gaze to prove her point. As if to prove her wrong, Homura was looking right at her with stone cold eyes.

"Even if there is, it doesn't really matter now, does it?" said Homura with a voice that marked the end of the conversation. And now Kyouko really was annoyed. There Homura went, coming up with her own damn conclusions, as freaking usual. With a huff, Kyouko rolled over and pointedly pulled the covers over her head, unsatisfied.

Homura shook her head slightly at the other girl. It seemed that all she had accomplished here was to thicken the tension between them.

At that moment, a quiet thumping sound started up. At first they didn't know where it was coming from. They tried to ignore it, but the sound got progressively louder, and it became evident the sound originated from next door. Soon after, the banging was accompanied by various pleased noises obviously human in nature. Homura and Kyouko, in their respective beds, became simultaneously annoyed and uncomfortable when they realized the couple next door was evidently enjoying their stay very much. After several long painful minutes of enduring the hot and steamy noises from next door, Kyouko gave up on pretending she couldn't hear it and sat up with a growl.

"That's it," Kyouko got on her knees, facing the headboard on her own bed. She grabbed the headboard and started banging it against the wall. Homura stared at her from her bed.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked reluctantly.

Kyouko was still banging away angrily at the wall. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm fighting fire with fire." she whispered to Homura, before adding in an overly-loud voice, "Yeah you like that?"

"Oh dear god," Homura muttered while Kyouko continued fighting humping with fake humping.

"You could help me out, you know." Kyouko suggested in a whisper, looking over expectantly at the dark haired girl.

"There. Is. No. Way."

"Tch." Kyouko looked disappointed before she shrugged, an evil grin appearing. "I'll just play your part for you, then." Homura raised a brow at her, unimpressed. But Kyouko pressed on, enjoying her own idea and upping her voice to an exaggerated level. "Oh Kyouko, you're the best in bed ever!"

Homura grit her teeth at the redhead's antics.

"Baby, I know!" Kyouko changed her voice to play herself. Homura felt her eye twitch in annoyance. "I always knew you'd come around!" She changed her voice again to what Homura assumed to be herself. "I'm definitely coming, Kyouko! Oh yeaaa—Oof!" Kyouko was cut off by a magically enhanced pillow throw to the face from Homura. It felt like she had been hit by a bulldozer and Kyouko slumped on her bed in unconsciousness. Homura watched for signs of life from the redhead before taking a deep breath.

"Well, I guess you aren't the best in bed after all, Kyouko," she stated just loud enough to be heard next door. Her cheeks were now a deep red in embarrassment that she had actually played along to some extent and situated herself in bed for a hopefully long and peaceful rest.

"You wanna bet?" Kyouko grumbled groggily, pillow still covering her head. Homura turned even redder, ignoring the other girl and glaring at the ceiling. She didn't sleep much that night.

The consequence of her lack of sleep was an even bigger problem in the morning.

"We missed the train."

"Yes, I can see that," Homura said as they watched their train pull farther and farther away from the station.

Kyouko didn't seem to mind that much. "When's the next train?"

"Four hours." Homura pinched the bridge of her nose to keep from running after the train in a magical sprint, prying open the doors and forcing her way on.

"Well, no point in waiting around. Wanna kick some pigeons?" Kyouko asked with a grin, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Homura picked up her own bag, her face tired and her mind giving up.

"Why not?"

.-.-.

"We should've done this a long time ago." Kyouko sighed longingly, stretching out her limbs on a queen-sized bed.

"You're right." Homura said, lying next to the redhead on the bed. She looked as relaxed and unhindered as she's ever been. "It's a wonder it's taken us this long to do this."

"Right?" Kyouko rolled over on the bed to her stomach, smirking down at Homura. "We've been needing to renovate your apartment for weeks now."

A man stood over them with a leer, wringing his hands eagerly. "Are you pleased?" he asked.

"Yes. I'll take it." Homura confirmed, sitting up and pushing Kyouko's face away from hers. The salesman was delighted and left to fetch their bill. Kyouko rolled off the bed, unfazed.

"Alright. One oversized astronaut bed for your room, check." Kyouko stood up, looking at Homura expectantly. "Next is my bed, right?"

"You have a bed." Homura stated, pressing her hand against the mattress to further test it out.

"I have a couch." Kyouko deadpanned with a frown.

"Yes. It's more than suitable, is it not?"

Kyouko huffed. "Then, let's buy me a new couch."

"Perhaps on the next trip." Homura sat down on her new bed, a satisfied little smile on her face.

"What about a TV? We need a TV." Kyouko held apart her arms wide in demonstration. "A huge 3D TV will be perfect for covering up that particularly large blood stain on the wall!"

"I figured I'd just use wall art."

Kyouko pouted, pointing at the new bed. "We'll cut this huge thing in half then!"

"I'll cut you in half," Homura said in her usual uncaring voice. Kyouko sat down next to the raven haired girl, leaning towards her with a grin.

"Getting a bed this big makes me think you either have the biggest ego ever, or you're inviting me to bed." Homura was silent for a moment to let her heart start up again after faltering at Kyouko's words.

"I just like the space." she explained, looking away. Kyouko sighed and flopped back onto the bed.

"Nothing like emphasizing what a lonely person you are by getting a huge bed for yourself!"

"Stop your complaining. It's about time to head back to the station anyway." Homura spotted the salesman returning with papers in his hands and stood up to meet him and sign for the bed set. "Do you deliver to Mitakihara?"

.-.-.

Homura was evidently in an improved mood when they reached the station in time for their train. Kyouko noticed even if Homura spent every one of her moods in silence and to herself. The redhead figured this had to do with the fact that they were returning home and Homura would be able to moon over Madoka once again. Kyouko felt annoyed by that thought.

"Say, why did you really come?" Kyouko asked, turning her attentions from the window to her partner in crime in the seat across from her.

Homura kept her violet eyes trained on the passing scenery outside. "For Grief Seeds." she responded with.

Kyouko crossed her legs and narrowed her eyes at the shield wielder. "I just have the feeling that you didn't get what you were looking for until we bought that astronaut bed. Which is weird, but I guess you really wanted that bed!" Kyouko snickered.

A snort of amusement escaped Homura, and she decided that her mood allowed her to indulge the redhead. "I wanted a vacation." she admitted, keeping her eyes trained on the view.

Kyouko tapped a finger repeatedly on her armrest. "Everyone already knew that."

The corner of Homura's lip quirked up. "Is that so?"

"Yep. The way you walk around in life just screams 'I need a vacation.' Well, I guess it explains why you're all happy now." Kyouko felt relieved about Homura's reason for the improved mood. "You should've just said it was a vacation from the beginning. We could've hung out more."

"Maybe next time." Homura's violet orbs lingered in Kyouko's direction for a second. "Still, hanging out with you has brought me a whole new set of problems."

"Why don't you enlighten me?" Kyouko asked impatiently. She decided now was as good a time as any to get at those train peanuts she'd been saving. Fishing them from her pocket, she tore open the bag of peanuts while waiting for Homura to say anything that was of any interest to her. Homura watched from the corner of her eye as Kyouko uncrossed her legs. Did she always have to wear those shorts?

"Well, the business with these mass contracts… and stuff." Why couldn't Kyouko just wear skirts?

"Is that why you've been so tense lately? Thinking about what the Incubators might be up to?"

Homura watched Kyouko suck the salt off one of her peanuts. "Yes, that must be it."

Kyouko finally caught Homura's gaze on her. "What?" she snapped, suddenly self conscious.

"Looks like I'm not the only one who's been tense lately," Homura observed, going back to watching the landscape slide by.

Kyouko munched on a peanut. "You're a pain, is why I'm so tense."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. "You should wear skirts, Kyouko."

When they arrived at their stop in Mitakihara, they were both pleasantly surprised to find their friends waiting for them there.

"Welcome home, you guys!" Madoka ran up to them, bowing slightly in greeting when she reached the pair. Sayaka and Hitomi were several steps behind the pinkette, waving.

"We're back!" Kyouko greeted back, grinning. "With Grief Seeds!"

"I'm home." Homura greeted quietly, smiling carefully at Madoka. The sight of Madoka's eyes still unsettled her, and she focused on the eye that remained Madoka's original color. Her other iris was as yellow and bright as a sunflower, and Mami's presence was clearly stamped into Madoka with that one feature. Homura looked away. It no longer felt like home when she looked into Madoka's eyes. The revelation wrenched at her heart and she had to grit her teeth to keep the smile on her face.

"Heya, Kyouko! How was the trip?" Sayaka asked, genuinely curious.

"It was…" Kyouko glanced at Homura. "It could've gone better. But here, I got you souvenirs!" The redhead tossed a couple of Grief Seeds at the other girl, who caught them deftly.

"Thanks, Kyouko. Looks like you must've worked really hard!"

"Hardly. Witches are no match for me, let alone me and Homura together. It wasn't a fair fight by a long shot!" Kyouko grinned in Homura's direction. "Right, Hom?"

"Indeed," Homura responded, fishing some Grief Seeds of her own from her pack. She handed four to Madoka, placing them gingerly in her hands. "You and Mami deserve the biggest share, since you've been working so hard, Madoka."

"Oh, spending more time with Mami is hardly work," Madoka laughed, pushing one of the seeds back into Homura's hand. "I know you've definitely been overworking yourself, so you take it."

"Hey, you're carrying for two, so don't worry about it!" Kyouko said as she overheard the conversation. "Oh yeah, and I guess you would need one of these too," Kyouko said in Hitomi's general direction.

The green haired Magical Girl smiled benevolently. "That would be appreciated, Kyouko. You know, equalizing Sayaka's Soul Gem is no easy task, after all." Sayaka pouted at her for bringing that up, while Kyouko grit her teeth in annoyance as her rival rubbed that fact in her face with that friendly smile of hers. Hitomi really knew how to piss her off.

Sayaka sighed to herself. Those two really needed to learn to settle this fight over her, since she wasn't going to be with either of them and they both had to understand that.

Kyouko tossed a couple of Grief Seeds at Hitomi as she walked past the girl, bumping shoulders with her. "I say we grab something to eat!" She said, leading the group away from the station.

Homura shook her head. Leave it to Kyouko to suggest food every time. She'll probably hand the bill over to Homura, too. Her eyes sought out Madoka automatically. "It's good to see you again, Madoka."

"It's good to see you two get here safely. Mami thinks the same."

"Of course she does." Homura knew that wasn't true at all. As she followed Kyouko she passed a smiling Sayaka.

"Had fun with Kyouko?" the swordswoman snickered.

"I blame you," Homura said under her breath, walking past the blunette.

The group went out to discuss the pair's findings. It was pretty straight and to the point. While everyone now had their seeds to get by, they still had to be careful about the magic they used since Mitakihara was Witch-less. But even as their meeting went on Kyouko seemed unfocused when she recounted interesting battles. Even Homura, who hadn't seen Madoka in days and had missed her terribly, felt distracted from the meeting.

It was all too soon when they arrived back at their shared apartment. Kyouko was livid with annoyance. She felt restless and unsatisfied. Even more so every time she looked at Homura. She needed to do something about it. She just didn't know how to go about it. Maybe a punch to Homura's face would make her feel better? But that wouldn't help much and she knew it. She'd been mad at Homura plenty of times, but this was different. It was a pent-up frustration that seemed to be building the more they avoided touching each other.

"How about some Chinese food, Hom? I feel like eating Chinese tonight." Kyouko brought up the suggestion as they unpacked their things. It didn't take Kyouko long at all; she had only brought a few pairs of shirts and underwear. She didn't own much, anyway.

"We just ate," Homura replied listlessly as she folded her clothes neatly and sorted them out in small piles. "Go ahead and call if you want it so bad."

"Gimme your cell," Kyouko prompted, walking up behind Homura, hand outstretched. Homura tossed her cell phone behind her without looking. Her cell sailed past Kyouko's hand, and the grumbling redhead had to turn around and bend over to pick it back up.

"By the way, Kyouko," Homura whirled around to address Kyouko and suddenly found herself with her hips flush against Kyouko's ass. Homura was taken by surprise and brought her hands up to steady herself on Kyouko's hips. There was one slow and agonizing second where Homura pressed the front of her hips as close to Kyouko's bent form as possible before Kyouko jumped up and away from Homura. The redhead let out a shaky breath and looked at Homura with wide eyes. Homura felt her face flame up painfully and in that moment the two young women realized an obvious truth.

"Wha…" Kyouko's voice came out more flustered than she had intended. "What? What were you saying?" She crossed her arms, trying to shake off the sparks of arousal that shot through her at Homura's accidental action.

Homura was smoothing out imaginary wrinkles on her front side. "I..." Homura tried to recall what she had been about to say, the words escaping her. "I just wanted to remind you to forget about what happened… that first night when we tried the Equalization." Homura felt like this was absolutely the worst possible moment to bring the topic up.

"Ah," Kyouko responded awkwardly. It was suddenly very much impossible to forget what had happened between them then and just now. It was just so painfully obvious. She didn't quite know what to say. "Sure, yeah. We wouldn't want things to get," she gestured between them, "weird between us or anything!"

"Yes, true. Good." Homura nodded her head a few times, opened her mouth to say something else, closed it and turned around to gather her clothes. She felt her cool points slipping the more she looked at Kyouko. It reminded her of when she interacted with Madoka. "Go ahead and call for food." she said, heading to her room a touch too quickly.

Kyouko watched Homura leave with a new fascinated look. Kyouko came up with her conclusion at that moment while she dialed the number to the Chinese place. She called, ordered, and the food was delivered to them within twenty minutes. When it arrived, Homura emerged from her room, ready to ignore whatever the hell had transpired between the two of them.

Kyouko handed Homura her share of food, watching the other girl carefully as Homura leaned on the kitchen counter to eat her food. Homura had come to a conclusion as well, and she didn't like it. She recognized the tension plaguing her and her friend, but she didn't want to acknowledge it. Hopefully Kyouko hadn't realized it at all.

"We should have sex." Kyouko suddenly stated offhandedly. Homura started choking violently on her food.

It was one of the first things Homura had learned when she first became friends with Kyouko – never eat something when the other girl was about to speak. Not that it would have come in handy in this situation even if she hadn't been eating; Homura would've choked on her damn tongue. Kyouko waited patiently while Homura cleared her airways with a series of coughs.

"Wh-what?" Homura finally asked in a hoarse voice, making sure to confirm the words she heard coming out of the other girl's mouth.

"You and me should have sex," Kyouko confirmed with a shrug, picking at her food. Homura stared at her speechlessly.

"And how did you come up with this conclusion?"

"It's hard not to, with all this sexual tension between us lately." Kyouko pointed out while chewing on a mouthful of eel. The edge of Homura's mouth turned down and she pushed her carton of food aside to cross her arms. So Kyouko had figured it out. "So, why the hell not, right? You don't find me repulsive, and I think you can be kind of cute if you smiled more often."

"Be serious, Kyouko. Do you have any idea what you're saying here?"

"I do. And I am being serious. It's not like this is out of the blue and you know it."

"Then you understand that it doesn't really matter that we happen to find each other attractive? We're both in love with other people. We can't just… have sex." Homura said the last words with great difficulty, embarrassed they were even talking about this.

"Yeah, we are, but here's the thing," Kyouko put down her chopsticks to talk. So Homura knew she was being serious. "I'm tired, Homura. Nothing will ever come from our feelings. But we can't change them no matter what, so it's like time isn't healing these wounds, we're just watching ourselves rot away in our own feelings. And hanging on to someone who isn't holding you back is called being dragged, and I'm fucking tired of being dragged by these girls!" Kyouko finished off lividly, her hands clenching and unclenching themselves to keep from shaking as she spoke of giving up completely on Sayaka.

"So let me get this straight," Homura said slowly. "You're saying that in order to get over the people we love, we should… Get together?"

"Something like that, yeah." Kyouko confirmed, looking down into her carton of food.

"This isn't wise. Ignoring our feelings isn't going to help us in the long term. Basing a relationship on s-sex isn't a great starting point." Homura tried to say objectively.

"But we're not basing it on sex; we were friends first! We know each other, and better yet, we accept each other. No one understands you better than I do, Hom. And I think I can really…" Kyouko trailed off, looking away in embarrassment. "I think I can honestly grow to love you. If I tried."

Heat flared across Homura's cheeks against her will at those words. "You're serious. You're seriously serious."

"I told you I was." Kyouko cleared her throat, looking at Homura again. "And I figure, we got nothing to lose at all. So we should just fuck and try to be happy."

Homura was silent as she took her friend's words in. It was crazy. And stupid. And irresponsible. They were probably setting themselves up for disaster. But not anymore so than the disaster they were already set up for by clinging uselessly to their feelings for so long. Kyouko definitely had a point- Homura had nothing to lose. She didn't even feel at home with Madoka anymore. Maybe this was what she had been looking for during that vacation.

"Okay." Homura said so quietly that Kyouko almost didn't catch it.

"What, really?" Kyouko appeared extremely surprised by Homura's consent.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Homura said in mock-annoyance.

"I thought it'd be harder to convince you." A slow smile spread across Kyouko's lips. "So, you wanna do it?"

"But only under one condition." Homura held up a finger to quiet the redhead. "We have to confirm this."

Kyouko looked confused. "Confirm what, you totally want me and you know it!"

"Not helping your chances, Kyou." Homura deadpanned before resuming her reasoning. "It's important that we know if this is what we want. I want us to confirm this attraction. And I don't just want to jump to 'sex' right away, either. If there's something here," Homura gestured between the two of them. "then we should let it progress naturally."

"We're Magical Girls, there's nothing 'natural' about us. I say we just do it," Kyouko protested.

"Do you really want to have sex right here and now?" Homura's eyes bore down on Kyouko in challenge and the redhead shrunk away.

"N-No way, it's too sudden."

Homura couldn't help smirk. "Says the one who brought the subject up in the first place."

"But how do we confirm it, anyway?" Kyouko picked her chopsticks back up, going back to eating her food. "I think it's plenty confirmed by now."

"We should make sure it's the right thing to do. That we're not just distracting ourselves. If we do this…" Homura looked Kyouko straight in the eye. "I don't want it to be on a whim. I want it to mean something."

"Ah…" Kyouko blushed slightly, realizing what Homura was saying. The possibility of starting a relationship together was a bit intimidating indeed, even if Kyouko had been the one to bring the possibility up. "Then we'll confirm it. And you'll be my girlfriend."

Homura had just been about to eat again, but she was now glad she hadn't since it would've induced another round of violent choking. Instead she let Kyouko know that she didn't appreciate the teasing with a warning look.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Kyouko inquired after a few moments, pointing to Homura's carton of Chinese food.

Homura looked into the carton, her mind heavy with other things. "I'm not very hungry."

Kyouko held out her hand in a "gimme" motion. "Hand it over, then." Homura straightened out and leaned over to hand over her carton of uneaten food to her roommate. When Kyouko grabbed it she connected their fingers intentionally, grinning up at Homura in a cocky manner. The black haired girl couldn't help smirking back before letting go of the carton, and deliberately running a finger up Kyouko's hand lightly before walking away and leaving the kitchen. They were both pretty shocked by the action. But mostly at how easily it had affected them physically.

Kyouko resumed eating with renewed gusto. She was confident that she would get her way. Homura went to her room and lay on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling for a long time. In her gut was the strangest mix of emotions. Anxiety, excitement, uneasiness… lust. Not that this wasn't hard for her heart. Kyouko was asking her to catapult reason away. But reason never did Homura much good anyway.

.-.-.-.

Sayaka took the 'normal' route to the roof today by taking the stairs. Bounding up the several flights came effortless to her, but she'd rather have been jumping the roof tops. But as Hitomi said, it was the little things that helped conserve their magic. And she was hoping to conserve it for a little sparring with Kyouko; if that was the reason the redhead had called her here in the first place.

The last time these two had been on a roof together, the blunette had been trying to convince Kyouko to stay in the city a few weeks ago. Kyouko had asked for a kiss, and a kiss had happened. Kyouko had sneaked it in when Sayaka had gone for her cheek. But Sayaka remembered it as a nice moment between the two of them. She had owed Kyouko that much at the time. Of course, now was a different story.

When Sayaka emerged onto the roof, the wind smacked into her, making her have to brush the hair from her eyes as she looked around for her former teacher.

"Yo!" Kyouko's voice greeted in her usual nonchalant voice.

"Yo…" Sayaka spotted the redhead sitting next to the ledge facing away from her against the wind. Her hair whipped wildly behind her and she turned to give Sayaka a fanged grin.

"Sup?"

"You're the one that called, so you tell me." Sayaka prompted, walking over and carefully sitting down next to Kyouko, the only thing between them and the open air being a chain linked fence.

Kyouko kicked a booted foot against the building. "I just wanted to see you, really." Sayaka gave Kyouko a questioning look, making Kyouko laugh. "What, I'm not allowed to see you for no reason?"

"Well, the last time we were on this roof there was plenty of reason." Sayaka pointed out with a hint of a teasing note in her voice. Kyouko hummed in acknowledgement, content with the memory of their brief kiss.

"I just wanted to confirm something." Kyouko admitted to an ulterior motive.

"Confirm?" Sayaka asked curiously.

Kyouko looked over at Sayaka, taking in her beautiful features. "I'm trying something out. And I want to make sure it's what I want."

"That's not like you at all." Sayaka commented.

"Yeah. But Homura insisted, and she kind of has a point."

"Wow. How out of character for you!" Sayaka laughed. "Confirming stuff, being all vague. You've been hanging out with Homura too much."

Kyouko snorted at the other girl's words. "I'm inclined to agree with you!"

The two girls occupied their eyes with the nice view of clouds and sky. Sayaka was curious about why she had been called here. "So are you gonna tell me what you're trying to confirm?"

Kyouko shrugged indifferently. "Do you really want to know?"

"It's not something that's gonna get us all killed again, is it?" Sayaka asked half-jokingly.

Kyouko shook her head. "Nah. But you never know."

"I get the feeling you're trying to make me worry."

"I ain't trying. But maybe you should be worried a little."

"Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I'm so sick and tired of worrying!" Sayaka had raised her voice so that she was yelling out into the air, clearly letting out some frustration.

"You and me both." Come to think of it, why was she even here? Looking at Sayaka now, bathed in sunlight at just the right angle; there was no doubt in Kyouko's mind that she loved this girl. It was such a thick love it threatened to choke her to death. Kyouko smiled to herself ironically. It was precisely the reason that she needed to move on.

"I love you, idiot."

The blunette blinked, caught off guard by the sudden guerrilla attack of love. "That came out of nowhere."

"Just had the thought that I never really said it. Feels good." Kyouko grinned, stretching her arms above her head. "And yet it feels like shit!" she yelled, mimicking the swordswoman. Sayaka looked on, bemused and embarrassed. "Well, now that I said it," Kyouko grinned in Sayaka's direction. "I guess I confirmed what I wanted."

Sayaka raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "That was it?"

"Yeah. Thanks for helping me out."

"Not sure exactly how I helped you, but whatever you say."

"Damn right whatever I say."

Kyouko was such a strange creature. Sayaka sometimes felt like the other girl was a puzzle, yet at once easy to understand. It was frustrating at times, but also what she liked best about the redhead. It was all very contradictory. Why did Kyouko even like her in the first place? A sense of helplessness and frustration took hold of her as she looked at Kyouko. What was she missing here? A strange sense of loss made her heart ache for a moment when she realized she would never know what she was missing.

"Hey Kyouko," Sayaka spoke up, wanting to say something. Red eyes turned to her expectantly. "If I was into girls or maybe if you were a guy…" At this point Sayaka started blushing profusely, realizing what she was saying and how she was saying it. "I would… Well, maybe I would have considered…" Kyouko watched in amused fascination as Sayaka had trouble getting words out. "I could've…"

"Hey, I get it," Kyouko laughed, waving the other girl off. "No point in wondering." she smiled sheepishly as she talked. "But if that were true, you probably would've gone with Hitomi anyway." Kyouko said thoughtfully.

Sayaka let out a flustered gust of breath. "Maybe I was the one trying to be all profound this time."

"It doesn't suit you anymore than it suits me." Kyouko reached over and flicked Sayaka between the eyes. "But I appreciate the thought." she consented, inwardly happy that Sayaka thought there could've been some wayward possibility of them getting together. Of course, it still wasn't ever going to happen between them. The thought dampened Kyouko's mood. This was something Kyouko was going to have to accept. All this time some part of her had been holding onto Sayaka, holding out on the possibility of "maybe." And that "maybe" was drowning her senseless.

It was strange to think it, but she would need Homura to save her from drowning. She needed Homura.

Kyouko made a face that was immediately noticed by Sayaka. It was an expression that screamed displeasure. Kyouko was annoyed that she needed anybody, while Sayaka figured Kyouko thought of something gross and she only hoped it didn't involve her with that particular expression.

Kyouko shook her head, dispelling her introspective thinking. This was all very annoying and trivial. The only thing that came of her thinking things over was coming to a conclusion that she had already come up with a while ago – she and Homura had to fuck. There, that was much simpler.

Satisfied, Kyouko lifted herself from her sitting position, standing near the building ledge and overlooking the street. "I'm going home." the redhead stated, kicking lightly at the fence before making her way to the exit.

"Good luck with Homura." Sayaka called out teasingly.

Kyouko looked back at the girl she was letting go of. "Don't be a smartass. I'll need all the luck I can get!"

.-.-.

Kyouko slipped quietly into the apartment. Spotting Homura across the room, sitting over piles of paper and looking as focused as only Homura can be, Kyouko naturally had a mischievous thought. Trying to be sneaky, the redhead moved silently through the room. She was practiced at not making a sound, and currently had no magical presence, so if Homura noticed her it was because the other girl had freakish senses…

"Are you really trying to sneak up on me?" Homura's question cut into Kyouko's ninja prowess.

Caught, Kyouko tried to appear as if she hadn't been all ninja a moment before. "… No." she scoffed, walking around Homura. When she got a good look at Homura, she froze. Atop Homura's nose perched a pair of red glasses like the ones the other Homura had been wearing during Soul Gem Equalization. It caught Kyouko off guard to see the real Homura wearing them.

"I'm collecting the data from our trip. We came across some very interesting varieties of Incubator occupation, and also, stop staring, it's incredibly rude." Homura spoke in an uninterested tone, shuffling through her papers all the while.

"You're wearing glasses." Kyouko pointed out, going ahead with her staring.

"Congratulations on your attention capacity."

"Why?"

Homura put down the papers she was holding and removed the glasses from her face. "I forgot I still had these. I figured they might help with conserving magic." Homura folded the glasses up and placed them on top of her papers on the couch. "Instead, they're giving me a headache."

Kyouko was quick to grab the glasses that Homura had just put down, appearing very curious and mischievous. "Hold up a second…" Homura was taken somewhat aback when Kyouko slipped the glasses back onto her face. "I want to see something…" the redhead explained in a low voice as she got the red pair of glasses back on Homura's nose. Violet eyes blinked at Kyouko curiously, not sure why Kyouko wanted to see her with her glasses back on. The redhead was staring at her with great interest and Homura suddenly felt very aware of the fact that Kyouko was leaning down and closing the distance between their faces.

Kyouko closed in on her slowly, as if daring Homura to move away. Homura herself felt frozen inside, while her face remained impressively free of expression, merely following Kyouko's movements inquiringly. When Kyouko got close enough that she could stick her tongue out and give Homura's nose a lick, the redhead hesitated for a moment, as if giving herself and Homura one last chance to pull away.

When neither of them did, Kyouko took the plunge, closing her eyes tightly and kissing Homura's lips. It was a quick, chaste kiss. Nothing fancy to it, just one girl pressing her lips against another pair of lips in a rather innocent fashion for a mere few seconds.

Kyouko pulled back after a moment, watching the other girl for a reaction. Homura looked speechless. Satisfied, Kyouko straightened up, shrugging a shoulder and clearing her throat. "You look good with glasses on." Her husky voice betrayed her nonchalance. "What's for dinner?" Kyouko headed for the kitchen in search for dinner.

Homura allowed her cheeks to flame up when the other girl was out of sight. She removed the glasses from her face and placed them back on the papers. What had occurred just now hadn't been… terrible. It hadn't been earth-shattering, no fireworks show started up. But the most noteworthy thing about that kiss was the fact that Madoka hadn't even crossed her mind.

.-.-.

After that incident, their relationship shifted tangibly. Mutual attraction was such a foreign concept neither of them had much experience in. It was like they had walked into whole new territory, with an unfamiliar language that they had to learn. The new tension that surrounded their interactions was like trying to get a grip on the new customs of this culture. If they happened to touch, it would be a lingering contact. If they caught each other's eye, they held the gaze. If Kyouko smiled, Homura would smile secretly to herself. The knowledge that someone else shared your desire really was the strangest thrill. Sure, there were awkward moments and pangs of culpability for the both of them whenever they thought about Madoka or Sayaka. But while their hearts were elsewhere, there was a certain need behind their actions.

The need of two people who had been alone for far too long.

But despite the obviousness of their shared physical attraction, Homura had yet to give the word of this "confirmation." It was frustrating to Kyouko. The redhead decided that if she wanted her way, she might have to try an even more direct approach.

One afternoon, Homura was distracting herself with a book. She was trying to distract herself from her restless impulses. She was tempted to take a long, long walk around the city. Maybe even call up Sayaka for another fight. Her body felt on edge. And every time Kyouko was in the same room, Homura could feel the other girl's gaze on her like fingers on her body. A shiver ran through the black haired magical girl at the thought.

Homura was at a very delicate balance determining whether she wanted to take this step with Kyouko. It felt like anything could tip the scale, anything could set them off at any moment…

"Hey Hom, how do you like my naked body?" Kyouko boldly asked as she walked into the room stark naked and wet, out of the shower and into the frying pan that was Homura's thought process. This was definitely not the moment Homura had been looking for.

Homura sighed loudly, snapping her book shut and eyeing Kyouko with little reaction. "You're terribly out of order about this, Kyou."

Kyouko blinked, hands still on her hips in a proud gesture. "We have to do this in order?" Her long hair was loose and wet red strands clung to her cheeks and neck in a manner that Homura found quite distracting.

"Not necessarily. It's a little late for it anyway." Homura looked away, clearing her throat and unconsciously straightening herself out. "But did you really think I would rise to this bait?"

Kyouko pouted slightly, thinking the bait looked pretty damn good. "Of course you won't. You're awfully boring and predictable like that."

Homura knew she was being provoked. She would normally just brush Kyouko off uncaringly and move on, but she felt strangely playful today. Or maybe she felt like paying Kyouko back for that kiss. She got to her feet and walked over to the still naked redhead, who appeared surprised that Homura was walking towards her. Homura stood in front of Kyouko, close enough to feel her body heat. Kyouko didn't budge, as she expected she wouldn't. Homura slowly leaned in and gently bit down on Kyouko's shoulder.

The redhead inhaled sharply, startled. Her pulse was roaring in her ears nervously at Homura's action and she could feel the other girl's teeth sinking into the now extremely sensitive skin of her shoulder. Confident only a moment ago, Kyouko now felt entirely too exposed and vulnerable in her current state of undress and she couldn't seem to lift a finger against the other girl.

But it only lasted for a moment and Homura released Kyouko, raising her head to give Kyouko a wicked smirk she had never seen before. "I'd recommend retaking that shower; you still taste dirty." And with that teasing statement, Homura went back to her book, sitting down and picking up where she left off in reading.

Kyouko let out a huge breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Freaking cold shower," she mumbled to herself, swiping at her wet locks as she finally felt the heat rising in her cheeks. She turned around, intending to go back to the bathroom to do just that when she paused.

This was stupid. Utterly stupid. She wanted Homura. She was certain Homura wanted her back. They were in a room a few feet away from each other, and they were still skirting around the obvious attraction. What part of this situation made any sort of sense?

Suddenly annoyed, Kyouko turned back around and marched right up to Homura. The time-traveler was still sitting at the couch reading her stupid book. Kyouko promptly removed the book from her hands. Homura blinked, raising her gaze and an eyebrow at Kyouko.

"Is there a problem, Kyouko?"

Kyouko didn't even know where to start with that question. "Yes! I got a problem! You're my problem!" She flailed around a bit with the book, before flicking the item across the room. Homura's eyes followed the book where it hit the wall, and when she looked back at Kyouko she appeared more apprehensive, if resigned.

"I'm tired of tip-toeing around this." Kyouko plopped herself down onto Homura's lap, the backs of her thighs coming to rest on Homura's knees. The dark haired girl suddenly felt like the room had turned into a furnace. Maybe Kyouko didn't realize it, but she was currently exposing a very private part of herself to Homura and the shield-wielder didn't know whether to stare openly or look elsewhere.

"What exactly are you waiting for, Hom? I'm right here. You're right here." Kyouko's voice came off a bit less accusatory than she had intended, but she was frustrated, she was determined, and she will get her point across to Homura even if sitting on the other girl's lap completely naked and wet left little room for thinking clearly. Homura wasn't looking at her; she was concentrating her gaze off to the side, her scrunched brows indicating she was in deep thought. Kyouko leaned her forehead on the side of Homura's head and spoke low into her ear. "C'mon, Homura… We need this."

Homura's lips were suddenly on hers, and Kyouko was actually taken by surprised despite having been the one to provoke action from her friend. It was a brief, breathless kiss, Kyouko having pulled back with wide eyes. Homura was looking right at her, swallowing back excited breaths, pupils dilating in an impressive display of lust. Kyouko hadn't quite been expecting this. But she could feel her pulse rocket and her body reacting to it, and her lips were swiftly recapturing Homura's in an embrace filled with a passion neither of them knew the other person was capable of. It was hard to say how long they stayed like that – could've been a few seconds to a few minutes – but they finally separated when they encountered the problem of breathing.

"You're…" Homura found her hands around Kyouko's waist, looking at own her wandering limbs curiously. "You're getting me all wet…" she mumbled uncharacteristically.

"Really?" Kyouko couldn't help grinning at Homura's words. "That's very flattering of you, Hom." The redhead took to trailing kisses down Homura's neck experimentally. She's never exactly done this before.

The black haired girl rolled her eyes at Kyouko, pushing her off even if Kyouko's lips made her senses explode. "Dry yourself off, please. You're going get the furniture wet too." Homura's voice had somewhat returned to normal, her fingers idly flicking a drop of water from Kyouko's bare shoulder.

"Ah…" Kyouko noted that her hair was still impressively wet from her bath a few minutes ago. "My wetness is getting you wet," she stated lamely, shuffling herself backwards off of Homura. She noticed how the front of Homura's shirt was soaked from where she had been pressing her front when they had kissed… "You should probably get changed. 'Cause you're wet. And you already said that." Kyouko was now feeling pretty flustered herself, backing up toward the bathroom.

Homura nodded, something of a small smile emerging. She got up herself. "Well then, I'll be in my room." Kyouko must have imagined this part, because Homura actually peeked up at her from under her eyelashes shyly. That did it. Kyouko stood thunderstruck in place, watching Homura disconnect their eye contact and hurry to her bedroom.

"Ohmygod." Kyouko shut herself in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror with the same dumbstruck look she must have worn when Homura looked at her with that look. "Ohmygod." Kyouko grabbed at the nearest fluffy towel, drying herself off as if she was patting down a fire. "Ohmygod."

She grabbed the mouthwash and downed most of it. She posed in the mirror. She checked down below to see if she was "normal," then couldn't determine is she was normal because she had no basis for comparison. She slapped at her cheeks a bit, working up her nerve. "This is it, me. It's not with the person you've imagined, but damn if the girl doesn't have some legs to die for on her."

She was getting sidetracked. Actually, no, this was the damn track. She was about to have sex.

With Homura.

"Ohmygod." She drank some more mouthwash.


	3. Chapter 3

Homura sat on her bed, out of her wet clothes and in her pajamas. The 'yes, i mad.' printed on the back of her purple nightie, complete with frowny face emoticon, didn't do much to reflect her current mood. She had half considered just staying naked, but this was infinitely more comfortable. She had to have some semblance of control in this environment. It certainly felt like everything else was pretty much thrown into the nearest blender and set to "insanity." Yes, that made more sense to Homura– she has finally fallen into insanity! That made her feel so much better.

Her heart nearly exploded messily out of her chest when she heard someone touch the doorknob from the other side of the door. She stayed perfectly still, making a conscious effort to breath normally when the knob was turned and Kyouko poked her head in, seemingly nervous as well. The look on her face as she peeked into the room was reminiscent of someone cautiously opening the cage of something big and poisonous.

The pensiveness on the girl's face was enough to soften Homura's rigid sitting position, and she unsuccessfully tried to relax. "Are you waiting for an invitation?"

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Kyouko entered the room fully, clad in her towel. "I've already been invited." Kyouko closed the door softly behind her. She stood there for a moment, eyes taking in Homura sitting on her bed as if she were assessing how to approach an enemy. And as Kyouko's strategy always involved just going in and battering heads, Kyouko approached Homura the same way. Without the battering of heads, of course.

Kyouko strode up to the bed and sat right next to Homura, the bare skin of her shoulder brushing up against the other girl. Just that patch of skin felt scorching hot to Homura. The thought of having the rest of the other girl's skin pressed against her was almost dizzying. She swallowed, and the sound was way louder than should be legal.

In an effort to break the tension, Kyouko stated the obvious in her most enthusiastic voice possible. "Let's have sex!"

Weirdly enough, it worked. Homura felt the tension diffuse a little and she answered in her driest, least enthusiastic voice possible. "Yay."

Kyouko kissed her. Homura found herself melting into it with a soft sigh. It was… nice. No, it was more than nice. It was discovery and a sense of freedom as she broke away from her own defenses. To finally let go and give in to what she wanted for once. And to feel that she somehow belonged in this timeline. Her hand came up to touch Kyouko's cheek as their lips met again and again, going from gentle and probing to long and lingering. Kyouko gained more confidence as she went, pressing her weight into Homura and pushing the other girl down onto her own bed, keeping their lips locked.

When Homura felt her head hit the pillow that's when things started getting cloudier. Kyouko's tongue flicked against her lips experimentally and Homura tried doing it back. Before they knew it, their kiss grew bold and hungry. Homura's mouth opened under Kyouko's and breathing was becoming an issue, so was thinking straight. There was only the way Homura's knuckles brushed Kyouko's chest, how Homura could feel Kyouko's towel slowly coming undone over her, how their lips and tongue melded together in a dance that was surprisingly tender despite their growing need.

"This is kinda weird," Kyouko murmured after a few minutes of getting hot and heavy, resting her forehead to Homura's as they caught their breaths. The black haired girl's hands had found their way to Kyouko's hips as the redhead kneeled over her.

"You've only now noticed?" The knot holding Kyouko's towel together at her chest was threatening to fall open any moment, and Homura settled on staring openly.

"No I mean," Kyouko kissed Homura again briefly in the middle of her sentence as if she couldn't help herself. "It feels like… 'Finally.'"

"Finally… what?" Homura inquired curiously.

"I don't know, just… 'finally.'" Kyouko explained vaguely, laughing slightly to herself. It really was weird, she didn't know whether she felt that it was about time the two of them got together or whether she was talking about what they were in the midst of doing. She gave a mental shrug, her thoughts quickly reduced to nothing when she saw what Homura was staring at.

Homura's grip on Kyouko's hips tightened when Kyouko resumed her insistent kisses. Her fingers trembled, and her whole body threatened to quiver uselessly in the face of Kyouko's assault. She squirmed, wanting for things to progress, yet nervous about how far things will go at the same time. Then the answer just unraveled before her. Quite literally, as Kyouko's towel finally unraveled before her. The redhead didn't seem to notice as she was occupied with busying Homura's mouth, but Homura was plenty aware of how a bare chest was hovering over hers.

Kyouko gasped when Homura's palm made contact with her exposed chest. She removed her lips from their work and lifted her head to look at Homura curiously. The raven haired girl's hand was stationary, just placed upon Kyouko's skin as if not knowing where to go beyond that. As if in experimentation, Homura's other hand came up to cup Kyouko's other breast and remained there as well. Kyouko's breath hitched in her throat, the other girl's palms feeling unnaturally hot against her rapidly hardening nipples.

Homura suddenly had a curious look on her face. "You're bigger than me."

"Huh?" Kyouko's voice cracked in the most embarrassing way possible, but before she could even begin being annoyed at the both of them, Homura's hands started moving, and the words that had been forming in Kyouko's throat came out in even more embarrassing ways. Small feminine noises escaped her unbidden as Homura palmed her sensitive buds. The level of sensations took her by surprise, especially when thumbs were brought into play against her chest. Homura was completely interested in Kyouko's reactions. She'd never heard the other usually fierce girl make such vulnerable noises and it deeply pleased some primal part of herself. She pulled the towel completely away from Kyouko, her eyes roving the rest of her body. The redhead felt goosebumps spread across her flesh at being exposed and she shivered uncontrollably, blushing at Homura's unwavering gaze on her body.

Annoyed that she was the only naked one and convinced Homura could feel her thundering heartbeat through her chest, Kyouko's hand went to the front button of Homura's pajama. She fumbled with the button for a moment before patience was tossed aside and a ripping sound was heard as Kyouko tore the front of Homura's top down the middle. Homura lay there, looking at her now torn emoticon pajamas with a bewildered look in her eyes. "That was… unnecessary."

"You weren't fond of these, were you?" Kyouko asked offhandedly, pushing the torn material aside to expose Homura's midriff.

"Doesn't really matter now, does it?" said Homura in amusement, thinking that the act reflected the situation as a whole.

"No, it don't," Kyouko said lowly, in almost a growl and she stooped her head and wrapped her lips around one of Homura's pink nipples.

"Nn," Homura bit her lip and closed her eyes, having expected Kyouko to do something like that and not wanting to get so caught up that she'd make the same embarrassing noises that would be unbecoming of her. But Kyouko had her eyes open and on Homura the whole time, smirking, and using her teeth to very gently bite down on a nipple, her other hand rubbing at Homura's other budding breast. Homura's breath shallowed and her back arched, her hands weakly tugging at Kyouko's shoulders. Kyouko put her tongue into play then, teasing a reaction from the usually stoic girl.

Homura felt tense and yet she was squirming, almost whimpering when Kyouko breathed a hot puff of air directly onto her wet nipple before going back to licking. "K-Kyouko…" Homura breathed out, still trying to hold back the sounds crowding her throat.

"Hm?" Kyouko inquired, relishing in the sight of a flushed Homura, her bottom lip between her teeth and her hair looking less than perfect for once. Homura didn't answer, not quite sure why she had raised her name in question. Kyouko switched breasts, her mouth leaving a hot trail in its wake. The way she sucked at Homura's nipple reminded the dark-haired girl of how Kyouko would suck on candy. It reminded Kyouko of the same thing, funnily enough.

Their legs brushed together regularly, making them crave more contact and their legs progressively became more entangled. Homura shoved a knee between Kyouko's thighs and the redhead did the same, their legs locking around each other. Kyouko nipped her way up the delicate column of Homura's throat, wanting to leave her teeth marks wherever she could, before Homura pulled her head up forcefully to kiss her.

Kyouko felt arms wrap around her neck and she wrapped her arms around Homura, pressing every inch of themselves feverishly against the other body. They both made soft noises in the backs of their throats as their chests pressed together. Kyouko's mind was full of the silkiness of skin and the heat of touching and melding seamlessly. She wanted more and her hand trailed down Homura's body to scratch at her below the waist, tugging her pajama pants and underwear down her legs. Homura compliantly raised her slim hips to let Kyouko undress her, only half grateful she hadn't decided to rip these in half as well.

With that done, Kyouko's hand went about doing what she had been wanting to do; exploring the miraculous legs of one Homura Akemi. She grabbed a thigh and wrapped it around her waist, rubbing at that same thigh and ass as she pushed their naked hips together. "D-Damn…" Kyouko growled, pressing her face into the space where Homura's neck met her shoulder. She repeated the motion of pressing their hips together, adding a rolling motion to her own hips. That one finally got a strangled noise out of Homura. Pleased, Kyouko repeated the action, taking advantage of her position to suck at Homura's racing pulse point while she was at it.

The more Kyouko did that the more Homura's control slipped. The friction between them was very much like sparks and it made Homura feel molten and her tongue loose. She felt a loud moan trying to force its way out of her throat and Homura bit down on a knuckle to hold herself together. It was very difficult to do since with every swipe of Kyouko's tongue and every roll of hers hips unraveled her more.

"Hom…" Kyouko groaned quietly, working up a rhythm as she rubbed their lower parts together. "Homuraaa…" It felt unimaginably good. She wanted more, more, and she was naturally greedy at heart and she always took what she wanted. She did just that this time by slipping her fingers into the wet space between their bodies.

Homura's violet eyes flew open at the jostling sensation of Kyouko's fingers against her most private area. Her head pressed against her pillow as her body arched against her will, a silent cry escaping her lips. Kyouko's teeth grazed her chest as Homura's chest raised itself as if in offering to the one providing the pleasure, and Kyouko was eager to collect on the offering. Her fingers probed, her mouth feasted, and Homura's surrender was a sure thing. Kyouko could see the beginnings of tears burning in the corners of Homura's eyes as she writhed under Kyouko, her teeth buried in her knuckles as tiny gasps slipped past her fingers. 'You're mine,' thought Kyouko.

As if sensing the thought, Homura suddenly bucked her hips hard into Kyouko, catching the other girl off guard and sending her off balance. Homura took the opportunity to push at Kyouko's shoulders and roll them over. Since their legs were conveniently locked around each other, it made it easier for Homura to pin Kyouko to the bed, panting over the redhead as she held her arms pinned over her head.

"Oi," Kyouko protested, wriggling her hands in Homura's grip. Homura's gaze was strong, and Kyouko lessened her resistance, the curiosity getting the better of her of what Homura wanted to do to her. The dark haired girl was just glad of the chance to catch her breath and recover; any longer under Kyouko's ministrations had threatened to overwhelm her.

She was surprised that Kyouko wasn't putting up as much of a fight as she figured she would have. She knew that in a realistic physical confrontation, combat was Kyouko's area of expertise and she could have easily overpowered Homura in a show of strength. The fact that she was compliantly under Homura, looking up at her with teasing and expectant red irises, made the situation somehow more erotic to Homura. Was it power? Being in the dominant position? Or simply that Kyouko expected something interesting of Homura that sent a thrill through her core?

Did she even care for reason anymore?

Homura sat up on her knees straddling one of Kyouko's thighs, releasing her hands. She grabbed Kyouko's other leg and pulled it forward, making Kyouko yelp in surprise when her body was forcefully turned on its side, allowing Homura to throw the leg over her shoulder, nestling her crotch directly over Kyouko's.

She started slow, experimentally pressing their sources of delicious torture together, creating an even more blissfully painful sensation. Kyouko all but melted, mewling the more Homura kept up her movement. The sound rang in Homura's ears and she panted into the thigh she was holding on to as she rode Kyouko progressively rougher.

"God, Hom, that feels..!" Kyouko could barely choke out the words. Homura was pushing into her, her tongue trailing the inside of Kyouko's knee, her torn pajama top still dangling from her shoulders. The sight was incredible to behold and Kyouko could feel her pleasure increasing just from watching. But she wasn't about to let Homura hog all the fun, no she was not. Kyouko was wanting, and most of all, greedy. It only took a moment to dethrone Homura from her perch of ecstasy. She just had to lock her leg around Homura's abdomen and flip her over. Homura didn't seem to mind nor particularly notice their once again reversed positions since she seemed thoroughly engrossed in the fact Kyouko kept their connection up. Or maybe she was just too tongue tied at the moment to do any protesting, since Kyouko picked up right where Homura left off. Except this time she added her fingers to the mix, wedging her hand between their bodies and slipping a single finger into Homura.

The raven haired girl winced at the invading digit, since Kyouko was wiggling it around as if she was looking for something deep inside her. "Not so rough..!" Homura wasn't able to finish her sentence since Kyouko started indiscriminately pounding that finger into her. Homura would've laughed if she had been able to. This wasn't how she imagined her first time to go at all. She'd always imagined with Madoka, it would be gentle and loving and hesitant touches and holding hands. Kyouko was clearly not the holding hands type, and Homura wasn't sure how she felt about that. But she knew how she felt about what was occurring right now, and it certainly felt weird and amazing in its own way. Kyouko certainly didn't pull any punches in the battlefield, nor here.

Kyouko was grinding into the back of her own hand as her finger went in and out of her partner. She could feel the slick walls squeezing her finger and she found that she took great pleasure in it. 'I can get used to this,' she thought cheekily, curling her finger to rub at Homura's inner wall experimentally. She could see Homura's abdominal muscles twitching with everything she did. Homura's arms were thrown over her head and grabbing at her pillow, her head off to the side as she tried to hide her whimpers.

Kyouko leaned down over the other girl, closing the distance between their faces. "You're making lewd noises, Homura.." Kyouko murmured breathlessly against the skin of Homura's delicate neck. Her hand and hips were working away under her busily, while her mouth planted butterfly kisses over Homura's collarbone in contrast. "So fucking sexy…" Her hand that wasn't occupied came up over Homura's head and took hold of one of her hands. Homura turned her face up to look at Kyouko at that move, surprise evident in her darkened eyes.

The surprise was readily consumed by Kyouko adding a second finger, making a mounting pressure in her body force her to arch her back into Kyouko and threatened to snap her in half. "NNN!" Homura gripped Kyouko's hand tightly as wave after wave of pleasure crashed into her with startling force. Kyouko, surprisingly, held back with a very secure grip.

Kyouko felt Homura's insides tighten around her finger and her palm flooded with warmth. Homura was pressing against her feverishly, her breath coming out harshly and Kyouko could feel her heat so acutely it made her own temperature shoot up to unbearable levels. She removed her fingers from Homura's heat so that she could hold the other body closer, wanting to melt into Homura, not feeling nearly physically close enough even if they were completely pressed up against each other.

Homura felt groggy as her tightened muscles slowly unwound themselves and she was able to breathe properly again. She was getting her bearings and becoming more aware of her surroundings again, but this proved to be increasingly difficult the more Kyouko panted harshly into Homura's ear.

"Homura…" Kyouko growled softly. Homura's eyes opened all the way in surprise when she realized that Kyouko was grinding into her thigh, spreading very obvious arousal across her skin. Homura's foggy mind instantly became sharper with that knowledge and Homura was intrigued beyond belief, listening and feeling Kyouko grip onto her in such a fervent way. "Homura," Kyouko's voice sounded increasingly insistent as she grinded even harder into Homura's slim leg. The dark haired girl felt compelled to do something for Kyouko, make her feel like Homura had felt a moment ago. Her body needed to.

Homura pressed her face into Kyouko's hair. "Come here," she whispered huskily into Kyouko's ear.

"Haha, I would like to come," Kyouko chuckled hoarsely. She felt Homura tugging at her body, tugging her up.

"Come here," Homura ordered, hands pulling at Kyouko's hips and tugging her forwards. Intrigued, Kyouko let herself be moved, sitting up and scooting forwards where Homura directed her. She ended up with her crotch hovering over Homura's face. As if motivated by instinct alone, Homura guided Kyouko's hips forward, her tongue and mouth strangely unhesitant and hungry for this act.

Kyouko shuddered and gasped loudly when Homura made contact. Homura's tongue almost felt cool against her dripping hot insides. With nothing to hold on to, Kyouko's hands grasped at Homura's hair, wanting to pull and tear, but not wanting to distract Homura from what she was doing now.

Homura kissed and gave tiny licks to the flesh presented to her, becoming emboldened with every soft groan and bitten back curse coming from the girl over her. Her hands grabbed at Kyouko's behind, holding the girl in place and pushing her even more into her mouth, not worried about drowning herself in whatever pleasure she provided Kyouko. She took her time exploring this new territory, tasting every area, sucking on the one spot that made Kyouko jerk and squirm.

"Goddamn, yes," Kyouko couldn't help grinding down onto Homura's face, begging for more, so close to the edge already. When Kyouko pushed down onto her, Homura pushed her tongue upwards, slipping her tongue inside. Kyouko arched her back, moaning loudly, and Homura realized she was enjoying herself. She found herself loving the taste and the act and the lewdness that came from swirling her tongue everywhere along Kyouko's silky insides. She grasped and kneaded at Kyouko's ass, pulling her impossibly closer, shoving her tongue into Kyouko again and again, teeth scraping painfully as she ate the other girl out.

The act was driving Kyouko crazy and her hand tightened and fisted in Homura's stupidly luxurious hair. She felt like she could hardly breath, and she could feel Homura's hot puffs of breath against her sex every time she withdrew her tongue to swipe it at her clit. She kept doing this over and over, sticking her tongue inside, and then dragging it up to her clit. Bursts of light erupted in the corners of Kyouko's vision and it felt so intense and raw it was almost agonizing, so she held on tight to Homura's head when she started to tremble uncontrollably.

The girl under her could feel even more arousal and warmth flooding her tongue and she withdrew her head slightly to watch in fascination. Kyouko had her eyes slightly open and staring right down at her, pupils almost black with lust, her mouth open and panting, her body sweaty and shuddering as she climaxed, gaze fixed on Homura. They held the gaze until Kyouko's muscles slowly relaxed and unraveled themselves. Kyouko slumped and pulled herself off of Homura, rolling over onto her back and staring at the ceiling as she caught her breath.

"We," Kyouko swallowed thickly. "We did it." Her tone had something of a surprised celebratory tone, as if she wasn't sure if she should high-five Homura for their accomplishment. She settled for raising her fist in Homura's direction. After a few moments she felt Homura bump her fist against hers and her grin widened.

Homura was staring up at the ceiling as well. She licked her lips, knowing it was Kyouko's taste in her mouth. She lay there, waiting for the guilt, the shame, anything. But her mind was simply a curiously contented blank. One peculiar thought did emerge after a while, though. "… Did you drink the mouthwash, Kyou?"

There was silence for a few moments and when an answer didn't provide itself Homura turned her head to look at Kyouko. The redhead had her eyes closed and was pretending to sleep. Homura knew she was pretending to sleep from the tell tale sign of a smile trying to twitch its way onto her lips. Feeling strangely playful, Homura reached over and poked her in the ribs. The smile on Kyouko's lips finally won out.

"My breath is naturally minty." Kyouko said, not being able to keep a straight face at all. She felt lighthearted. Like a… burden that she had been too used to having was curiously absent.

"Liar," Homura retaliated softly, poking Kyouko again. Kyouko grabbed hold of the hand poking her and pulled Homura to her. The dark haired girl didn't resist, letting Kyouko drag her body in for an intimate kiss. Or was Homura doing the pulling? Hard to tell.

Kyouko's tongue glanced gently at Homura's lips before pulling away, an impish grin on her face. "Minty. See, that's my natural taste."

"You probably drank the whole bottle." Homura muttered, nuzzling Kyouko's neck. Kyouko's fingers raked smoothly through Homura's hair as their actions came closer and closer to outright snuggling.

"Hey," Kyouko whispered, caressing Homura's spine. "Now that we've done it, does that mean you're my girlfriend?"

Homura paused briefly in ghosting her lips over Kyouko's collarbone. She rolled the words around in her head curiously. "Get some sleep, Kyouko." Homura finally settled on saying, pressing herself into Kyouko's warmth. Her body ached pleasantly in places she didn't even know she had.

Kyouko nodded, not pushing Homura for an answer to that particular question. It was still weird to think it in her own head. "You want to go again?" she asked jokingly, grinning suggestively.

Homura's fingers trailed over Kyouko's stomach as she inhaled Kyouko's scent thoughtfully. "Sure, why not." she replied.

Kyouko's eyebrows shot up in surprise and excitement. "What, seriously?"

Homura snorted against Kyouko's skin. "Just kidding." she drawled dryly.

The happy look on Kyouko's face immediately faded. "Goddamn tease."

.-.-.

Homura was a morning person. She started her days early and found it fairly easy to wake herself up. This might have been attributed to the fact that she never really had peaceful rests. After one night with Kyouko, she was suddenly reminded of what it was like to sleep dreamlessly. But after all this time, she never once recalled as rude (or awesome?) an awakening than the one she received from Kyouko the morning after. This was probably because she woke up very startled to find Kyouko's head between her legs.

At Homura's fully-aware squeak, Kyouko raised her head and licked her lips nonchalantly. "Ah, you're finally awake."

Homura had so many possible things to say at this moment that she wasn't even able to sort through them properly to reply. After several moments of Homura making the visual equivalent of "what is this I don't even…" Kyouko went right back to what she had been doing.

"You know, Hom, you make a lot more noises when you're sleeping than when you're awake." Kyouko spoke right up against Homura's wet cunt, her thumb rubbing up on Homura's entrance. Pulling her finger away, Homura could see a considerable amount of her own arousal coating Kyouko's thumb right before Kyouko stuck the digit into her mouth. Apparently Kyouko had been working her for quite some time while she had been asleep.

It was quite the strange sensation to wake up and find oneself halfway to completion. As a result Homura's body had already succumbed to Kyouko before she could make up her mind as to whether she would resist. She also couldn't seem to be able to stop the flow of these "noises" Kyouko just mentioned.

"Ahhh~" Homura found herself saying , her fists gripping the sheets on either side of her body, making her unable to clamp her own noises down. Kyouko smiled cockily, her tongue teasing Homura's nub while she gently circled Homura's entrance with a finger.

"I have to remember to keep waking up before you," Kyouko playfully remarked, giving the inside of Homura's thigh a nip before going back to eating.

"Haahn!" Homura couldn't possibly hold herself back having been caught unguarded and unawares. Her hips arched as her body attempted to get closer to the source of gratification, heedless of Homura's mental scrambling to get a hold of herself. Kyouko's tongue repeatedly swirling around her clit made this task virtually impossible. She only wanted and needed more, more pressure and friction and Kyouko.

It didn't take much longer to reach that height Kyouko had brought her to last night. All Kyouko needed to do was finally dip a finger into her, and Homura's body spasmed with a sharp cry from her lips. Kyouko kept her finger buried deep within her, feeling every pulsation going through Homura in wonder. She removed her fingers when it seemed that Homura calmed down, breathing heavily as her body stilled.

"Good morning, by the way." Kyouko said cheekily, crawling up Homura's body. The time traveler eyed the other girl mindfully.

"You couldn't let me wake up naturally first?" Homura grumbled, discreetly wiping at a small trickle of saliva from the corner of her mouth.

"Can't get any more natural than that," Kyouko said, looking all proud with herself. "You see, I wanted breakfast, and I saw you lying next to me looking all delicious and couldn't resist." she explained in a very satisfied manner. Homura snorted, pulling Kyouko down onto the bed next to her and rolling onto her.

"Next time you'll have to earn my moans, Kyou." She all but purred, straddling Kyouko's waist.

The redhead leaned up on her elbows, the intrigued look in her eyes indicating Homura had caught her hook and sinker. "Oh?" Kyouko said with interest, running her hands up and down Homura's thighs with zeal. "Challenge accepted."

At that moment, Homura's phone rang.

"Do not answer that." Kyouko demanded, already pouting since she knew Homura would probably go answer it anyway. Homura at least had the decency to give the phone an annoyed look before reaching over to grab it.

"I don't usually get called unless it's something important." Homura offered the brief and apologetic explanation, bringing the object to her ear. "What?" she answered tersely. There was a brief silence as the person on the other end of the line relayed whatever information they had. Homura swatted at a hand that started groping her butt, trying to focus on what the other person was saying. "No, we're not already there. This is the first I'm hearing about it. We've been," Homura swatted hands off her breasts, "occupied."

Kyouko had leaned forward at this point to kiss at Homura's neck, wrapping her arms loosely around her waist. She could hear the sound of Sayaka's voice on the other end of the line, making her pause briefly. There was a pang in her chest that she quickly smothered.

"Understood. We'll be there." Homura ended the conversation, tossing the phone behind her. "We're needed."

"What about my needs?" Kyouko griped, tightening her arms around Homura and biting at the area where Homura's neck met her shoulder.

"There are Witches in Mitakihara." Homura announced.

"Goody. I'm sure Sayaka, Madoka, and Hitomi will be thrilled with the chance to stretch their legs and magic after so long." Kyouko made a noise of surprise when Homura pushed her back down onto the bed.

"I agree with you. I have half a mind to let the other girls handle it while I take care of you," Homura said in a low voice, sliding her hand up between Kyouko's breasts, pinning the girl down with her hungry gaze alone. Kyouko gulped, finding herself powerless in the face of such lust made bare. Homura held her down for a few seconds before looking away and sliding off of Kyouko's bare waist.

"But we have a responsibility."

Kyouko groaned on the bed as Homura grabbed some clothes.

"If Witches are back, it means Incubators have finally returned to the city. We need to know if they have any knowledge about what we did to Kyubey." Homura said as she pulled a shirt over her head.

Kyouko just groaned again.

"We can grab breakfast while we're out." Homura offered.

That at least got Kyouko to turn her head and give her a rakish grin. "I already had my breakfast."

"If you don't get out of bed, I won't let you have 'lunch,'" the time traveler said offhandedly. Kyouko's grin slipped immediately as she recognized the threat and she reluctantly got out of bed. As she trudged out the door Homura smiled to herself, finding it amusing that she had found another way to have control over the redhead other than normal food. Had she just unleashed a beast?

.-.-.

"Let's make this quick!" Kyouko said as the two teens stepped into a Witch's Labyrinth, already transformed into their magical gear.

"Of course," Homura replied, hand on her shield, all business.

Kyouko spun a spear around in her grip, grinning. "You're pretty sexy when you get all serious."

Homura repressed a snort. "I thought you wanted to make this quick?"

"I could do this with my eyes closed." The spear-wielder ran ahead, slashing a few crow shaped Familiars that spun over their heads and cawed at them like grouchy demons. A few of them took a dive at Kyouko, and she erased them out of existence easily with a swipe of her menacing spear.

"Not that'd I'd want to close my eyes!" Kyouko shouted over at Homura as she threw her spear like a pro javelin thrower and pinned a crow to the side of a giant chair. "I'd hate to miss that fine ass of yours in action!" Kyouko summoned another spear and continued running ahead, jumping over random pieces of warped furniture.

Homura shook her head and walked after her. "Showing off her own ass, more like it."

It didn't take long to catch up to the other girl. It didn't take any time at all since she activated her powers. They were deeper into the labyrinth now, the landscape looking like distorted beds and wardrobes of all shapes and sizes. Crows flew by overhead, while shadows lurked behind chair legs and between desks. Kyouko was standing atop a pile of tiny dressers, fighting off a cloud of crows the shape of a hand that kept reaching for her. She cut off finger after finger and they just kept growing back annoyingly and she flipped backwards. Homura ran forward, looking like a brief blur of movement as she shot down every single crow one by one until they all exploded in a small cloud of black feathers. In a matter of a few seconds, feathers covered the ground, and Homura stopped looking like a flash to Kyouko.

"Let's go," Homura intoned, cocking her shield for any other Familiar that might appear. Kyouko jogged to catch up with her, openly checking her out.

"Have I ever told you how amazing your legs look in those heels?"

Homura found her focus waning. "Have I told you to shut up?"

"No, really," Kyouko was walking behind Homura, and reached forward to brush her skirt aside to get a better view. "Now that I got a small taste of you," Kyouko's voice had lowered huskily and she groped at Homura's ass, "I can't seem to get enough."

Homura swatted Kyouko's hand away. "I really have unleashed a beast," she commented, stopping in her tracks.

"You could say that," Kyouko replied sheepishly, removing her wandering hands. That's when she noticed Homura had led them to a dead end, which wasn't like her.

Homura spun around and grabbed Kyouko suddenly, surprising her. "I wasn't talking about you," Homura whispered sultrily right before she kissed Kyouko, pulling the other girl into the shadow of book shelf in a secluded corner of the labyrinth. She pushed Kyouko up against a wall, kissing the hell out of her. Kyouko had been a little caught off guard, but she was soon returning Homura's lusty kissing with gusto, her spear clattering to the ground.

After a few moments Homura separated their lips, a thin line of saliva connecting their mouths. Kyouko was already breathing shallowly, leaning forward after Homura when the other girl pulled back and seeking more. Homura placed a hand on her chest, lightly pushing her back against the wall. "Watch my back," she ordered. Kyouko nodded, her eyes alight with curiosity. Homura lowered her head a bit, her focus shifting to the oval shaped ruby gem on Kyouko's chest. The redhead, realizing what Homura was up to, squirmed noticeably when Homura simply blew on her Soul Gem.

When Homura took that first lick of her Soul Gem, Kyouko could feel her chest throb and her breath get catch in her throat. Homura took a longer second lick to the thrumming warm gem, and Kyouko's knees almost buckled. It felt like the most intense and addictive feeling Kyouko had ever experienced.

"More," Kyouko breathed roughly, hands clutching at Homura's jacket almost desperately. Realizing just the kind of effect this had on her partner, Homura smiled, the gem between her teeth.

"If you lose focus, you could get us both killed in here," Homura tried to explain, even as her judgment felt clouded in the midst of the act she was performing. She truly felt… insatiable. She ran her tongue over the gem several more times before suckling it, her eyes looking up to see how Kyouko was doing. Kyouko's crimson eyes appeared glazed over as she scanned the area behind Homura obediently. Her breathing was ragged and she could feel Kyouko's body trembling. The sight brought Homura great satisfaction. This was probably the stupidest and irresponsible thing Homura had ever done in recent memory, and she was loving it.

Kyouko felt like she would spontaneously combust. Homura was stimulating her body and mind and soul and what felt like the very foundation of her essence in the most maddening of ways. Her Soul Gem felt hot in her chest and the heat bled through her veins. It felt very similar yet very different than sex. And to top it all off, the added danger of Homura doing this smack dab in the middle of a Witch's labyrinth was a thrill in and of itself. Kyouko couldn't take it. With a cry it felt like her existence folded in on itself, turned inside out then set aflame. It felt as if her heart nearly gave out from the pleasure too. If Homura didn't hold her up, she would have crumpled to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut away.

Homura held Kyouko's weight, surprised that Kyouko seemed to lose conscious for a few seconds in her arms. Maybe treating a Soul Gem like that wasn't a good thing? "Kyouko? Are you alright?"

As if in answer, a lattice work of red links appeared behind her, sealing them off. Kyouko's fingers pressed into Homura's biceps hard enough to leave bruises and the redhead looked up at Homura, a pure predatory look in her eyes. She rose up with renewed strength, snatched Homura up and threw her up against the wall, reversing their positions. They kissed like starving animals and clawed down each other's bodies as if trying to get inside the other person's skin. Kyouko pushed a thigh in between those stocking-clad legs she could never get enough of. Homura made a deep distinctly feminine sound, and Kyouko knew she had definitely earned that moan. Kyouko pressed impossibly closer as if she wanted to smash Homura through the wall.

They didn't really give a fuck as to the fact that they were wearing clothes. They were in too much of a hurry to bother removing any clothes. They just hitched up each other's skirts and worked around it. A couple of devils committing the most basic of sins, that's what they appeared to be: another piece of crazy within the craziness of the labyrinth.

Homura slid her hips forward along Kyouko's thigh and raised one of her own legs to press it into Kyouko in kind. The spear-wielder growled into Homura's mouth, the vibration caressing the back of Homura's throat. She adjusted the angle of her pelvis to better rub her thigh between Kyouko's own, increasing the scorching friction between her own legs against Kyouko's thigh. Some funny disjointed part of her mind noted all the crows flapping and screaming at them through Kyouko's barrier, wanting to end their lives while they were too consumed in their own satisfaction to pay them any mind. It was funny, and Homura might have laughed if Kyouko hadn't started roughly dragging her hips back and forth along her the top of her thigh.

Homura lost herself completely then, hands grasping and groping anywhere, everywhere, Kyouko's nose gliding dizzily along Homura's jaw and breathing hotly against her neck. Their bodies found a rhythm to their bumping and grinding. Homura pulled sharply at Kyouko's hair. The spear wielder sank her teeth into the skin of Homura's shoulder hard enough to draw blood even through the fabric. They were gasping and grunting and riding as that intense heat built up between them until it all seemed too much to bear and when it felt they reached their absolute boiling point, it was like their bodies flushed to freezing cold before erupting into even more of an inferno.

They writhed against each other until the lightning bolts of white hot pleasure receded from their spines. Kyouko kept her feet planted, effectively keeping them upright, though her legs trembled with the effort. It didn't hurt that Homura's leg was still pressing up into her. "Damn," Kyouko said between gasps for breath. "That was like, fucking crazy magical Jesus sex."

Homura was catching her breath flush against the wall where Kyouko had pinned her. At Kyouko's words, a foreign noise escaped her. Even Kyouko looked surprised. Homura started laughing. That in and of itself was not that strange, but this was probably the first genuinely amused laugh Homura had laughed in a very, very long time. It bubbled from her dry throat and she was powerless to stop it. "Magical sex indeed!" she giggled breathlessly.

Kyouko was still looking at the other girl incredulously. "Seeing you smile that wide is like looking at the Mark of the Beast, Hom." Despite her sarcasm, Kyouko thought Homura looked rather nice when she smiled like that. Weird, but… nice. After having that thought, something that she didn't remember seeing before caught her attention. "Whoa, where the hell did they come from?"

The red chain links she had put up was covered with the dark creatures, a whole wall of them. After giving them a moment's consideration she realized that they appeared to be flapping in extreme slow-motion. She realized Homura must've been using her speed-up time magic to give them the barest semblance of privacy. The spear wielder shrugged and turned her attentions back to Homura.

The time traveler's giggles were subsiding a bit as she took back control of her brain from that mind-blowing "magical Jesus" sex. "We should probably, um," Homura cleared her throat and shifted her hips, feeling a distracting amount of arousal between her legs and the thigh that was in between Kyouko's legs, "we should probably go kill this Witch now."

"Yep," Kyouko ran caressing fingers from Homura's shoulder to elbow to her left hand, lacing her fingers through Homura's.

"We're putting innocent civilian's lives at risk with our dallying," Homura reasoned, violet eyes watching closely as Kyouko pulled her hand to her mouth and started kissing the tips of her fingers.

"Mm-hm, yeah." Kyouko flicked her tongue against Homura's palm.

"Not to mention the moral implications of this barrier. A Magical Girl has fallen, and we should respect that." Homura's voice got lower and lower and licked her lips unconsciously, Kyouko's eyes giving her a very sensual look.

"I'm totally hearing what you're saying," Kyouko whispered, taking one of Homura's fingers into her mouth and lightly sucking at it, keeping eye contact with Homura the entire time.

"Good," Homura kept trying to speak even as Kyouko paid equal attention to each of her fingers. "Communication is… very important." Homura was progressively losing her train of thought.

"I completely agree," Kyouko said agreeably. She turned Homura's shield hand over so that the back of her hand was facing up. She traced the golden outline of Homura's diamond-shaped Soul Gem with her tongue. The gears inside Homura's shield whirred and clicked as she did, the Familiars outside their protective screen seeming to speed up for a moment before going slow again.

The back of Homura's head hit the wall as she drew a sharp gasp for breath, the intensity of Kyouko's mouth on her Soul Gem hitting her like a ton of bricks. "Aren't you," Homura paused to shudder, "satisfied yet?"

Kyouko pressed a kiss to the deep purple gem. "I have a hearty appetite."

"I think I'm finally starting to appreciate that appetite of yours," Homura drawled humorously, her eyes fluttering shut when Kyouko gave her gem a hearty lick. Kyouko snorted in amusement before going back to work with her eager tongue and mouth.

It was in these moments, when both girls were so distracted by each other, that they didn't notice the Familiars dissolving away, and the entire labyrinth evaporate around them, the sign that the Witch had been destroyed. Kyouko still had Homura pressed up against the side of a building while she pleasured her Soul Gem and neither of them seemed particularly concerned by their surroundings. At least that's what another Magical Girl observed from a few meters away from them.

Madoka was at a complete loss. She had her bow still cocked and aimed at the Witch that was no more. A Grief Seed dropped in front of her with a small pin-drop sound. She had a momentary heart attack thinking the sound would attract the attention of her two friends who seemed to be doing something very private over in the street corner behind a web of red links. Then she realized that perhaps she should be attracting their attention so that they realized they were in a public place. But luckily when they were in their magical states, the attention of civilians was diverted from them. So anyone walking down the street would look the other way from what two Magical Girls were doing.

But still, it was in public. Madoka just couldn't just slip away without saying anything.

"I say we sneak away," Mami's voice stated her opinion inside Madoka's mind. "They're obviously in the middle of something. It would be rude to disturb them." Mami was watching through Madoka's eyes and felt immensely pleased by the sight presented. It looked like Homura had finally moved on from Madoka. That was one minor issue Mami could ease off her shoulders. Well, technically Madoka's shoulders, since they were sharing a body and all… You know what she means. Not that she had ever been particularly concerned as to whether Homura could steal Madoka away from her.

"Wouldn't it be rude if we left them here in the street?" Madoka stage-whispered to herself… to Mami… whatever.

"It's their business. In any case, those two were meant for each other, don't you think? Be happy for them."

"I... I am happy for Homura." Madoka whispered, feeling even more jumpy when she heard something like a pleased moan coming from the other two's general direction. Did they not sense her magic? She could sense that the two were releasing torrents of magical force like a beacon to any other Magical Girls in the city. How did they not notice?

"Aren't you gonna get the Grief Seed, Madoka- whoa, look what we have over there!" Madoka jumped even more at Sayaka's voice, torn between shushing the girl into silence and realizing that it was far too late now. Apparently Sayaka, who had just jogged up to Madoka and picking up the Grief Seed, had been oblivious to Homura and Kyouko's presence this whole time until now.

But with that shout from the blunette, the two engaging in what could best be described as "sticking their hands in each other's cookie jars" could not possibly be kept oblivious about Madoka and Sayaka's presence. They had stilled and slowly turned their heads to look at their witnesses.

Kyouko removed her mouth from Homura's hand and turned back to face the time traveler. "Hey, uh… What happened to your magic?" Kyouko asked very quietly, willing her hormones to calm down a little bit after seeing Sayaka standing right behind her and looking at her with a cheeky grin.

Homura looked like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. "It must've slipped away at one point," she said back just as quietly. She contemplated using her magic so that she could escape as fast as possible, but decided that would accomplish nothing. She nudged Kyouko away from her and took her shield hand back.

Kyouko got the clue and took a step back, hastily straightening out her uniform and hair, dispersing the protective screen she had put up before turning back to the other pair and feigning surprise in the most obviously fake way possible. "Oh, hello there! Didn't see you!" Kyouko pasted on a wide smile and walked towards the pair, conspicuously wiping at her thigh with her hand. "Homura's Soul Gem was a bit dirty, so I was just wiping it down!"

Sayaka stifled a laugh with her hand. She had never seen Kyouko lie so badly before. Madoka was just flustered and fidgeting her hands in embarrassment. "Oh, so that's what you were doing," Madoka commented. Sayaka stifled even more laughter.

"Yeah, well," Kyouko cleared her throat, glancing behind her at Homura. The dark haired girl was hanging back, presumably getting herself together for Madoka. She was always doing something for Madoka. "Why don't you tell me about all the damn Witches that have been popping up, Sayaka." Kyouko threw an arm around Sayaka's shoulders, a gesture she used to love doing, and steered the blunette away from the scene.

"I think I'd like to hear more about you wiping down Homura's Soul Gem with your tongue!" Sayaka shot back right before Kyouko took advantage of her arm's position to put the caped girl in a headlock. "Nsdhfdo!"

Kyouko told the girl to shut up and stop waving her sword around while still dragging her away by the neck. Madoka watched them leave with a sheepish smile. When she turned back around, Homura was walking up to her, composure as cool as ever even if she was looking away. "Hello, Madoka." Homura greeted.

"Hey," Madoka said in a friendly manner, trying to coax a smile out of Homura with one of her own, though that rarely worked. "You two surprised me! You were letting off so much magic in the maze I was curious as to why it was taking so long to defeat the Witch!" Madoka explained with a hand on her hip. Homura noted the girl's stance and confidence and wondered if she had changed because of Mami's influence or on her own. It seemed like only a short time ago that Madoka spoke in a voice that constantly sounded apologetic for her own cheerfulness. Superimposing her Madoka with the current one always gave Homura a headache as it was constantly a reminder that this was no longer her Madoka.

Homura flipped her hair over her shoulder, trying to appear as unruffled as her ruffled state would allow. "We got sidetracked. I'm sorry you had to clean up after us, it won't happen again."

"Don't feel bad, Homura." Madoka's majestic weapon disappeared from her grasp with a quick flash of pink light. "We're happy to do it."

We. As in Madoka and Mami. Homura forced herself to look at Madoka in the eyes, seeing the different colored irises. This was not her Madoka. But it was the Madoka she had fought for.

"Kyouko is my girlfriend now." The words slipped out in a rushed and breathy sentence. Madoka looked as surprised by the sudden admittance as Homura was. She wasn't one to blurt things out, but Homura felt it needed to be said out loud and to herself. Looking into Madoka's eyes now, Homura wanted to show her that she had the ability to move on just like Madoka had, even if the pinkette would never truly understand the depths of strength only Homura possessed to do so. "She and I are together now," Homura said in a firmer voice.

"Ah," Madoka blinked as she reeled from the sudden news before a grin lit up her face. "That's great, Homura! I think you two are good together. I'm really happy for you!" Madoka didn't think twice about throwing her arms around Homura and pulling her in for a very tight hug. Homura felt even more aware of the remnants of sex still on her person, but she returned the hug, lightly wrapping her arms around Madoka's middle. This was going to be the last time Homura would allow herself an indulgence of this girl. Madoka, who had been the center of her life for what seemed like a thousand years… Homura took a deep breath so that the moment didn't overwhelm her and she took a step back to indicate that Madoka should let go.

"Thank you," Homura nodded, an embarrassed smile on her lips.

"Since when?" Madoka asked curiously, not missing a beat.

"Since," Homura tried to pinpoint the time when this had all started, and she suddenly smiled when she couldn't, "since a while, I suppose." She laughed, her voice as delicate and light as bells. It felt like a megaton of weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt more awake than she had in a very long time.

"I really love your laugh, Homura." Madoka smiled warmly. "If Kyouko can make you smile like that more often, than I'm all for it!"

"Then you obviously don't realize how insane I'm being driven," she replied, a note of a tease in her voice as her smile went back to her usual slight smirk.

"You're preaching to the choir." Madoka pointed to her temple and laughed.

"I don't appreciate that, Madoka." Mami pouted within the pinkette's head. She had kept quiet so far to give Madoka some semblance of privacy. Madoka sent a wave of good natured humor Mami's way to reassure her, even if Mami knew Madoka hadn't really meant it. At least, she hoped she hadn't meant it.

"I'm sure Mami doesn't appreciate that," Homura said to Madoka, surprising the two girls sharing one body. "Even if she does deserve it." Madoka felt a burst of annoyance from Mami and she quickly changed the subject.

"I think this is the last of the Witches today, Homura. I know you must want to get back to your girlfriend." Madoka sounded twice as giddy at the word "girlfriend." For some reason it made Homura like the term less. Perhaps she would refer to Kyouko as her partner, or lover. Actually, just Kyouko was fine. Homura and Kyouko, just as it always had been.

"I am rather reluctant to deal with anything the Incubators throw at us right now. Haven't even seen one of the bastards yet, and I don't care to." Homura peered behind Madoka and saw the figures of Kyouko and Sayaka talking down the street. "Let's call it a day, shall we."

"Sounds good," Madoka went ahead and let her Magical Girl uniform disappear from her body to reveal her normal clothes underneath. Homura followed suit and did the same. Kyouko and Sayaka turned their heads in their direction, probably sensing the other two releasing their magic before reverting back to civilian attire themselves and meeting up with the other pair.

"So," Sayaka started off. "I really am the only straight Magical Girl in the city."

.-.-.-.

The group had grabbed a bite to eat, and did a couple of normal things before they got sick of doing normal things. Homura, who had noticed Kyouko had been quieter than usual, excused them to go home. Sayaka and Madoka were just all too happy to see them go together, grins on their faces the entire time they left.

When they got home, the place seemed different somehow. Even if it was still the same old sparsely furnished and badly decorated and too dark and still had the lingering stains of Kyubey's black blood… It just felt different. It probably also had to do with the fact that there was now a queen-sized mattress freshly delivered and dropped off in the living room. "Your giant astronaut bed is here." Kyouko threw her jacket to the side while Homura folded hers over her arm, surveying the additions to the room.

"The TV is here too." Homura pointed out the smaller object next to her new bed. Kyouko whipped her head around, now more alert at the revelation. Her eyes widened when her gaze found the television box and she practically jumped with glee.

"Are you serious? You jerk, you should have told me!" Kyouko laughed, kneeling next the generously sized box.

"I felt spontaneous," Homura said, pleased that her decision to get the thing brought about this reaction.

"How did you even afford these things, anyway?" Kyouko asked absently, reading the features of her new TV.

"Well, you had a job once, remember?" Homura replied. Kyouko's smile fell off her face and she pouted at Homura. "Hey, you can consider these things truly yours." Homura defended. Kyouko straightened up and deliberately got into Homura's personal space.

"Even the bed?" she asked coyly. Homura answered by way of pushing Kyouko down onto the bed and following her.

"Shall we break it in?" Homura offered, lying flush on top of Kyouko and tangling their legs together. Kyouko grinned up at her.

"You want to break my new bed already?" she asked impishly, shivering as Homura brushed her ear with her thumb.

"I'll go easy on you for the sake of our new bed." Homura whispered against the skin under Kyouko's jaw. Kyouko sighed in pleasure and relief.

"So I guess we're still good?" the redhead asked with a hint of apprehension. Homura raised her head and looked at the other girl questioningly.

"Good on what?"

Kyouko blushed and averted her gaze. "Good on… us?"

Homura figured this must be what had been bothering the spear wielder. "What made you think we're not… 'good?'"

Kyouko pulled at one of Homura's earlobes. "Well… you talked to Madoka."

"I did." Homura went ahead and made herself comfortable atop Kyouko, hips over hips, chest over chest.

"How did that go?" she asked a little quieter.

Homura tilted her head as she regarded the sulking redhead. "Why do you ask?"

Kyouko shrugged. "Where does that leave us?"

Homura softened her gaze, bringing up a hand to gently brush the fringe from Kyouko's forehead. Where would she be right now if she had never become friends with Kyouko? The only reason she even felt like any vestige of humanity was left in her was because of her connection to Kyouko. She was no good without her.

"I told her you were my girlfriend, if that's what you mean." Homura said. Kyouko's eyes went huge as her head snapped to Homura.

"Seriously?"

"Yes." Homura sounded amused by Kyouko's bafflement. "And what about you? You talked to Sayaka."

Kyouko released a short breath of relief. "I told her the same thing." The two girls shared a tentative look before smiling slowly. Kyouko huffed in amusement, looking away and taking Homura's hand that was against her face. The dark haired girl took advantage of her hand's position to pull Kyouko's face back towards her, leaning down and giving the redhead a gentle kiss while Kyouko gave her hand a squeeze. They laid there in comfortable silence, and Homura understood why the apartment felt different now. It felt like home. In her bones, she felt like she had found the one place in the world where she would be accepted, next to her best friend and now lover, Kyouko.

"I guess with Witches back in the city, there's no need for Soul Gem Equalization anymore," Kyouko noted after a few minutes of playing with Homura's fingers. "Not that we ever succeeded at that."

The time travel had laid her head on Kyouko's shoulder. "You want to try one more time?" she asked.

Kyouko paused in playing with her girlfriend's fingers. "Are you offering what I think you're offering?"

Homura rolled her eyes and placed her lips next to Kyouko's ear. "Do you want to try having that threesome with me in my soul?"

Kyouko grinned, the ring on her finger already morphing to a glittering red gem. "You're the best girlfriend ever."

.-.-.

Inside Homura's soul, Kyouko rushed in happily, but there was only one Homura present this time. Kyouko looked around the cave eagerly. "Where's the other you?"

"There is no one else," Homura replied simply.

Kyouko looked confused. "But last time I was in here, there was glasses you and screwed up you."

This Homura shrugged. "We merged. You are now looking at a new, well-balanced individual." She flashed Kyouko a friendly smile. Kyouko's face and excitement fell.

"You're telling me that the only way to have a threesome is that if you're crazy or something?"

"Yes."

"… Worst girlfriend ever."


End file.
